


Sarada, Princess of the Saiyan Race (Episodes 1-25)

by The_Lupine_Sojourner



Series: Princess Sarada of the Saiyans [1]
Category: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Romances Included, Canon/OC pairing, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Follows Canon, Original Character Insertion, Romance, Siblings, Vegeta has a Sister
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2020-08-11 17:23:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20157286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Lupine_Sojourner/pseuds/The_Lupine_Sojourner
Summary: All her life, Sarada has been a fighter standing beside her brother, Prince Vegeta, among the soldiers of the Frieza Force. However, she's never been as cold and ruthless as the Prince, yearning for the opportunity to finally be free of Frieza's iron grip.When she hears of the mysterious Dragonballs, she heads to Earth with Vegeta and Nappa, hoping these Dragonballs will hold the key to her escape from the tyranny of Lord Frieza.After arriving on Earth, her life takes a series of drastic turns no one could have predicted.Couples: Eventual Piccolo/OC, Vegebul, and Gochi.





	1. Prologue

**I am using the Super Broly movie for how Vegeta and Sarada found out that their race and planet were gone. So anyway, let's get this going, shall we? Lemme know if y'all want more of this story, okay?**

**God bless and Good Day!**

**~The Lupine Sojourner**

"Vegeta?" He turns his head to me from when we were doing our exercises in an effort to continuously raise our power levels.

"What is it?" He asks sharply, not liking the interruption of his concentration. I move on to the next exercise before replying.

"Why do we have to kill _everyone_ on the planets we're assigned to?" I ask. Vegeta halts and so do I, the question hanging in the air like the increased gravity in the chamber.

"What kind of question is that?" Vegeta snaps back. "We- -that's how it's always been! We Saiyans are warriors, conquerors!"

"But why can't we just let them live under us?" I press. Vegeta sighs, crossing his arms before turning a slightly annoyed look toward me.

"You want to be stronger, right, Sarada?" He asks. I nod.

"Yes, of course!"

"Then you have to prove yourself, keep testing your limits! Destroying weaker species is just Survival of the Fittest at work! It's not our fault our opponents are so weak." I blink.

"So if we find opponents stronger than us...do we let _them_ live with us?" I ask. By Vegeta's logic, that made sense, at least to me.

"There are no species stronger than the Saiyans," Vegeta replies in a no-nonsense tone.

"Oh. Okay." I didn't quite understand, but I had learned, even as a five-year-old, that these things were not to be argued, so I went back to training.

=#=#=#=#=

"Sarada, come on!" Vegeta hisses at me as he tugs me along behind him. I stumble and try to keep up with him.

"Vegeta, what's going on?" I pant out. Vegeta briefly stops.

"Father is meeting with someone. Someone he demanded to see alone. I've never heard of Father insisting on such a meeting. Figured we should see what this is all about." I could never deny Vegeta, so I nod as we continue moving.

"Okay, you don't have to tug my wrist," I complain and he lets go with a huff.

"You don't have to be a wimp about it." He counters. I stick my tongue out at him and we continue on our way. Soon enough, we slip through the passage we discovered that led into Father's private meeting room. We look out and see a figure looming over the King of the Saiyans, cat-like ears extending from his head and odd clothes over his body, a tail laying limp toward the floor. He was purple, his shoed foot against Father's head as Father knelt before him, and was shaking as if in terror. I flinch. Who could make the King of the Saiyans bow and tremble like that?! I halt Vegeta's movement. If Father was scared, we had no business meddling in this. Better to be silent observers.

Despite myself, I creep a little closer to the pair with Vegeta, beginning to shake in fear myself. Just who was this figure and why was Father so afraid of him?

"Can your miserable little brain comprehend why I'm so angry, Saiyan King?" A booming, authoritative male voice rang out, freezing me in my tracks. Vegeta tugged me to him, positioning me subtly behind him as the figure applied a little more pressure to Father's head. "Answer me." The man growls.

Father took a few moments to reply and I could hear the fear and hesitancy in his voice. "Because I promised to fulfill your mission in the time you gave me, Lord Beerus, but it took longer than I thought it would."

"Wrong." 'Lord Beerus' replies, voice icy and stern as he continues the pressure. Beside me, Vegeta's jaw clicks in anger.

"Father's being humiliated!" He hisses. "How can he take that?"

"I don't know. Whoever this man is, if Father's scared, we should be, too." I whisper back, hand reaching out and grabbing Vegeta's cape as a comfort. This was bad!

"We're Saiyans!" Vegeta snaps back, mindful to keep his voice down. "We aren't afraid of anyone. Just who is this filth?!"

"Vegeta, Father called him a Lord. That means this man is important! We shouldn't interfere!" I whimper. What Vegeta had said was true, but this seemed to be an appropriate reaction in this instance. Anyone who can subdue the King of the Saiyans so completely must be someone we don't want to mess with.

"I don't care!" Vegeta replies hotly, barely managing to keep his voice low. "This man should remember his place!" I tighten my grip on his cape. Something told me if we intervened, it would end disastrously. Before I can speak, however, Lord Beerus' voice booms around the room and once again I'm stiff with fear.

"I consider myself a rather flexible diety." He begins. I flinch. _Diety_?! "I know you mortals have your limitations, but there is one thing I can_not_ tolerate; the callous arrogance of those who do not pay the respect a Destroyer is due." I gulp. A destroyer? A diety?! And he was _here_!? Why? _Why_ would a deity come _here_ and- -Father's head slams into the ground, cracking it slightly, and Father grunts in pain. Vegeta and I flinch. I put my hand over my mouth to stifle any noise. The last thing we needed was for Lord Beerus to see us. We likely wouldn't survive such an encounter. "I ordered you to find me the most comfortable pillow in all the universe, and I know for a fact you obtained it." Come again?! This diety, this Lord Beerus, came here and demanded that the King of all Saiyans find him the universe's most comfortable pillow?!

A rage slowly began to build inside me. Not enough to make me act, but enough to slowly begin eating at my fear for the figure threatening my father.

"Your tenacity is impressive," Lord Beerus continues, grinding Father's head into the ground, "although your methods? A bit severe." He adds, an almost coy undertone to his voice now as he leans closer to our father's prone body. He was playing with Father, taunting him! Beerus knelt in front of his victim, grabbing Father's hair and hauling Father up to face him. "I bet you don't even know how many creatures you killed in that raid." I blink. Was he talking about Father's rushed reentry to the planet a few days ago, and then a secret meeting with a few choice advisors? I think I did see someone carrying something that could have been a pillow toward our bedrooms, but...I didn't want to intervene and tell this man my suspicions as to the location of this pillow. "Of course," Lord Beerus' voice snaps me back to the matter at hand. "being what I am, I could have accepted all that if you had simply given me the best pillow instead of keeping it for yourself and trying to fool me with the second best." Beerus hauls Father up further and punches Father in the chest, hard enough that Father instantly keels over, winded and groaning in agony. Tears prick my eyes as Father collapses and I don't notice that I had let go of Vegeta's cape at some point until he's stepping back in utter shock before his fists clench and his eyes narrow in outrage.

"Bastard!" He growls, and I can tell by the look in his eyes, he is going to charge.

"Vegeta, no!" I snap, trying to grab the cape, racing after my headstrong brother, but it's no good.

"That is the King of all Saiyans!" Vegeta roars as he runs forward. My mind replays what Lord Beerus said about being respected, just as I move to cut in front of Vegeta. But before I can speak or stop my brother, I feel something strange happen and suddenly, I feel sluggish and as if I were in the training room with the artificial gravity increased far beyond what I could stand. Just before I collapse, I manage to move in front of my brother, trying to form any kind of shield I could. I fall to the ground, trying as hard as I could, but I can't speak or move hardly at all. I try to move to better protect my brother, but it doesn't make much of a difference.

"Children should not interfere with the affairs of gods." Lord Beerus growls and I feel my mouth dry in terror. This was how I die. Lord Beerus then yawns. "I think I'll retrieve what's mine and put the pillow to use; I grow weary of mortal's disappointments. Listen well, children; you should never intervene in matters beyond you again. Come, Whis." From behind us, I see a man in strange robes come forward, following Lord Beerus toward the door. Suddenly, we can move and instantly, I have to move to restrain Vegeta, who seemed too blinded by rage and frustration at how easily we were restrained to even speak.

"Take a left down the hall. I think our father has the pillow in his bedroom." I murmur, resigned to let the god go about his business. Lord Beerus huffs.

"At least one of you has some small fraction of sense. Thank you, child. I think I might spare this planet, but know this; if you test me again, I _will_ annihilate the entire Saiyan race before you can comprehend that you've died." Beerus growls menacingly, then turns and walks away. I breathe a sigh of relief, then am promptly punched in the face. Winded, I fall to the ground.

"What the hell was that, you traitor?!" Vegeta roars, looming over me, shaking in rage. He hauls me up to face him. "How could you let that scumbag steal from us like that!?" I pry his hand away, getting in his face.

"Didn't you hear him, Vegeta!?" I snap. "Lord Beerus told us not to intervene in a god's affairs!"

"That doesn't mean you _help_ him!"

"I think you should be thanking me! He could have easily killed us and the planet!"

"That doesn't matter! Where's your Saiyan pride!? Don't you care about the humiliation we suffered because of that filth?!"

"He's a _god_! There isn't anything we can do against him!"

"That doesn't mean we can't _try_!"

"Silence...you two..." Comes Father's voice before I can reply, and we instantly stop arguing and help him up.

"Father, tell Sarada she shouldn't have- -"

"Enough! What's done is done."

"But Father!"

"No arguing!" Father interjects sternly, resulting in a fit of coughing.

"Are you alright?" I ask. Father nods.

"I will be, Sarada. Now, help me clean myself up, and tell no one what you saw in here, got it?" I nod.

"Of course, Father." Vegeta huffs.

"...If you say so, Father."

=#=#=#=#=

I don't know why, but I woke up late at night, throat dry and feeling groggy. I went to get a glass of water when I heard a strange noise and got a weird feeling, so I made my way forward, sensing something very strange. There was someone down near the room with the pods but hadn't made it there yet.

"C'mon! Where are they?" The man hisses to himself when I arrive. Based on the description, it looked like it could be the new military recruit, Radditz's father, Bardock. What he was doing, I didn't know. He did seem to want a pod, though...

"If you're looking for the pods, they're down the hall, second door on the left." I murmur, rubbing my eyes. "But why do you- -"

"Thanks!" Bardock (if that's who this guy is) interrupts, starts running away, then turns to me. "...this needs to be a secret, okay?" For some reason, I trust him, finding myself nodding.

"Okay." Bardock's face lights up a bit and he gives me a small smile, walking over and ruffling my hair.

"Thanks again, kid." I smile back at him, then the smile fades as I remember I still didn't know why he wanted a pod.

"Why do you need a pod?" I ask. Bardock sighs.

"It's for something very important," Bardock explains. I move to stand in front of him.

"What precisely is so important you need to steal a pod?" I press. Bardock crosses his arms.

"Listen, kid, I don't have time to keep talking to you."

"Then I don't have to remember that this is supposed to be a secret." I retort, crossing my arms and glaring at him. "Now, as the Princess of the Saiyans, I demand you tell me why you need a pod!" Bardock groans then sighs heavily.

"Fine. For my son. Now get out of my way and don't breath a word of this to anyone, got it?" I huff.

"Was that so hard?" I reply sarcastically, side-stepping to let Bardock by. "I won't tell anyone, but you'd better hurry and use that pod. Its absence will be noted soon enough." Bardock doesn't reply, walking away down the hall. I roll my eyes, face back down the way I'd come, and return to bed, someone finding myself able to go back to sleep, feeling like I did something right.

No one would ever notice the stolen pod, turns out.

They'd all die in a freak meteor strike within a week of the incident.

=#=#=#=#=

At only about ten years old, we were going on assignments to planets in need of...repossession. Each assignment was more dangerous than the last and we kept getting stronger, as is usual for Saiyans. Then...

We were assigned to some planet I can't remember, just a day or so after I met Bardock.

It was a relatively easy assignment, considering we had Radditz, two adults and Father's advisor, Nappa, with us. However, it was a large enough planet that the assignment took longer than we thought.

Partway through, we all got an order to return to Planet Vegeta, but we weren't done with the assignment, so we all agreed to ignore it. Once we were all done with our part, we met back near our pods to eat and rest up a little before the trip back home. That's when we got the worst message possible.

"Did you hear that?!" One of the adults asks, voice shaky in fear.

"Something wrong?" Nappa asks.

"We got a message from the Frieza Force!" The first adult continues. "A meteor collided with Planet Vegeta and- -what?!" He grows even more shocked and terrified, if possible. I find myself falling into the same response despite not knowing the full reason behind his reaction. His cry of shock makes me flinch subtly, my food forgotten in my hand. "Our whole world was obliterated!" He exclaims. I have to sit down.

"No way..." I mumble breathily, hardly aware I was even speaking.

"Impossible!" Nappa asserts. My head whirls under the weighty implications of the Saiyan's words.

"That means most of the Saiyan race was completely wiped out!" The second adult notes, eyes as wide as the rest in shock. I swallow. That means...that means...Mother and Father were...were gone! Father and I relationship had somewhat soured over the years, fraying a little over my power level, a bit lower than Vegeta's. That didn't mean his loss didn't affect me, but it made my emotions regarding his death a bit...complicated. I sat there, trying to process what happened when I see the adults jog toward us.

"Well, I guess we're pretty lucky, aren't we? It's a good thing that we decided to ignore Frieza's order to head home." I swallow.

"I guess, but...we all had family...and they're just...gone." I murmur. Vegeta huffs.

"Now I'll never get to be King Vegeta!" He groans. I blink.

"Is that all you can think about?" I ask in shock.

"Of course! I was destined to rule Planet Vegeta one day! Now I'll never get the chance!" I decide not to press the issue and blankly stare at the adults that were approaching.

"Vegeta, Sarada, you two have a brother, don't you?" Someone (I'm too frazzled to really process who it was) asks. I flinch. Shit! I'd almost forgotten Tarble!

"Oh no! Tarble!" I squeak, hand over my mouth in horror at the thought of him being gone as well.

"Yeah. Wonder if he got blown up, too." Vegeta muses apathetically. I whirl on him.

"How can you be so calm?! We lost our planet and almost all of our people!"

"Like I've been telling you our whole lives, Sarada; Survival of the Fittest. Guess most of the Saiyans didn't fit the bill." I bite my lip. I felt like crying, screaming, doing anything that normal people would do in this situation, but not here, not in front of everyone. So I simply don't speak, and no one really questions it as we fly back to the Frieza Force.

Later that night, in the privacy of the dormitory I was given on a ship, I let the tears flow and the sobs echo around my room for who knows how long. I never told Vegeta about all the nightmares and sleepless nights I've had since losing Planet Vegeta, and he doesn't ask. He's far too concerned with bettering himself to actually talk to me or relay his own emotions about our endangered species status.

He just assumed I was over it, and I never corrected that notion. No, as far as Vegeta's concerned, I was as apathetic and cold as he was, but there was an ember inside me, a shred of decency left, and I was determined not to let it get put out.

=#=#=#=#=

Being one of the last Saiyans in existence was easily the worst thing I'd ever gone through.

Being forced into employment under someone like Frieza and accumulating more genocide charges than any other decent living being was somehow even worse.

"Pl-please, don't!" These words never failed to make me miserable. However, if I caved every time I heard them, I'd be long dead for my disobedience. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Look, this isn't anything personal. But I have my orders; nothing living is to be left on this planet. That's just the way it is." I reply listlessly. It was a usual response for me. No one ever understood how much I hated doing this.

"Sarada, are you done yet? We're behind schedule!" Comes Vegeta's voice, reminding me why I needed to stay strong and complete the assignments I was given.

I had to stay with Vegeta, no matter what. He was all I had left. He was all I cared about. So, without any more excuses to stall, I send a ball of ki into the house as I walk away, having to ignore the screams and horrible smell as I rejoin my brother. "Just finishing now," I reply. "Let's go." We did, and I watch the fires' crackle til we were out of sight of the village. Vegeta gave the report to the Frieza Force, and I got something to eat, trying not to feel sentimental. But, this was another entire species that was now extinct. And another charge of mass genocide on my conscience.

Honestly, the only reason I stay in the Frieza Force and keep massacring aliens is because I want to get as strong as I can, so I can kill Frieza and run away with Vegeta to find something else to do in our life besides kill and destroy. But we were still far, far away from Lord Frieza's kind of power level. It was so far beyond ours that all I could do was keep training and pushing myself, and hope that one day, we'd be able to finally put an end to this monster.

I join my brother and Nappa around a fire and begin to eat. I don't even complain about eating the people we killed since I am rather hungry and I'd already eaten the food I brought.

"Radditz stinks." Nappa groans. I blink, having ignored anything on the radar while forcing myself through the assignment.

"What?" I ask.

"Radditz was slain by pathetic Earthlings and his very low-level brother, Kakarot," Vegeta explains testily. "He's a complete disgrace!" I sigh.

"He was a Saiyan. Now there are even fewer Saiyans left." I muse. "All the same, I suppose it's better this way; the Saiyans that do remain are strong, it seems." Vegeta spits near the fire.

"Don't make me laugh, sister. Kararot isn't any better than his brother; it was Radditz's foolishness that cost him his life. Kakarot himself is a low-level peasant compared to us, a bug in need of squashing."

"You're saying we're going to teach those Earthlings a lesson?" Nappa asks. Vegeta shakes his head.

"No, that's a waste of time. I was mainly saying that even you could squash him quite easily if you wanted to. I am curious, however..."

"Ah. Are you thinking about what Radditz said?" Nappa asks. I don't bother asking what Radditz said. It didn't matter. Vegeta stands, chuckling.

"Exactly. Those Dragonballs caught my interest." I raise a brow.

"Dragonballs?" I ask. "Sorry, I'm a bit behind. I was focused on the assignment and didn't pay attention to the scouter." I explain. Vegeta nods.

"Well, there are apparently seven items called Dragonballs, and if we can get our hands on them, they grant us anything we want. Anything at all." I blink.

"Are you serious?" I murmur, shocked at the implications. This was crazy! One single wish, potentially anything I wanted? "That definitely warrants investigation," I add, smirking. Maybe I could wish for a way to beat Frieza!

"Yeah, let's go!" Nappa cheers, and we begin heading back to our pods.

"Once we force Kakarot's friends to tell us how to find the Dragonballs, we'll eliminate them, along with anyone else who tries to stand in our way."

"And then we can wish Radditz back to life," Nappa suggests. I scoff.

"Yeah, right. If we can have anything at all, we can't waste a wish on Radditz. We need to aim higher." I reply.

"Sarada's right. Radditz was a weakling and a fool. Any Saiyan who could be defeated so easily doesn't deserve to live." I nod. I'd gotten used to those harsh declarations from Vegeta, even subconsciously began to accept them, but it wasn't enough to make my heart harden as Vegeta's had. "Actually, Nappa, I had something far more grand in mind. Now tell me, how does the idea of eternal life sound to you?" Vegeta asks. Nappa smirks.

"What? Living forever?" He asks. "That sounds great," I smirk, too. With eternal life, we could keep battling Frieza until he died, no matter how long it took. "And if we can't die, then that means no one would ever be able to defeat us, so what the heck would we need Radditz for?" I nod. Harsh as it was, it made sense not to wish him back. I climb into my pod, smiling to myself at the thought of finally making that bastard pay for all the years I'd been kept under his heel.

"Yes, what for indeed?" Vegeta replies smugly. "We'll be the greatest fighters in the universe, and we will ascend to our rightful place among the Saiyan warriors of legend." I blink.

"Do you mean..?" Nappa begins.

"You think we can become the legendary Super Saiyan?" I add. Vegeta nods.

"That's exactly what I mean. We will become Super Saiyans!" I grin.

"What are we waiting for, then? We gotta get to Earth!"


	2. Terror on Arlia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarada and Nappa are a bit surprised when Vegeta wakes them from stasis for a pit stop on a tiny backwater planet named Arlia. What might Vegeta be planning to do there?  
(PS: I know I suck at summaries. Sorry! If you want me to stop putting these summaries, let me know!)

**Okay, so as the title of this chapter suggests, this 'book' will encompass the first 25 or so episodes that Sarada and Vegeta are involved in. That should put this ending right after they leave earth. We'll see.**

**Anyway, thank you all for reading and (hopefully) enjoying the story so far! Now, without further ado, let's dive into the next chapter!**

**Side note: If anyone has a title suggestion for this story, I'd love to hear it!**

**God Bless and Good Day!**

**~The Lupine Sojourner**

After setting the course for Earth and going into stasis, the next thing I knew was Vegeta's voice over the scouter.

"_Sarada, wake up! Nappa, you too! Wake up!_" I blink owlishly as the lights come on and I grimace.

"I hear you, Vegeta," I grumble. Then look out the pod window and check the navigational computer. "Wait...this isn't Earth. Vegeta, what's going on?" I ask.

"_I was about to ask the same thing._" Nappa concurs, groaning as he came awake, too.

"_It's nothing much_," Vegeta replies. "_but I thought we´d make a stop. Stretch our legs a bit, get some exercise._" I sigh.

"And where is this pit stop supposed to-" I check my navigational readings. "Wait, Arlia?! Why are we stopping here?!" I growl. "This planet isn't-"

"_Maybe we could sell it for a nice price._" Vegeta explains, cutting my complaint off. Truth be told, I was only after the Dragonballs. I didn't feel like another genocide before then. Before I can voice any of this, Nappa beats me to it.

"_That sounds good._" Nappa says, and I sigh.

"Alright, fine. Shouldn't be too hard." I add. No sense arguing with Vegeta when he has his mind set on something.

"_I hope these Arlians know how to fight!_" Nappa says, chuckling evilly. I hope this is quick; I hate extended missions. "_We haven't had any real competition since I can remember._" I put my cheek on my fist and roll my eyes.

"We haven't been on many missions recently, either." I point out.

"_Like any pathetic race can compare to the elite Saiyan warriors, anyway._" Vegeta replies testily. I refrain from pointing out that the only Saiyans left _were_ the elites, and chose to just sigh.

"You're right." I then spot Arlia up ahead. Soon, we land. I'm not impressed at all when I step from my pod to find a barren wasteland littered with ruins and old buildings barely standing.

"What a mess." Nappa groans.

"Indeed. This place is pathetic." Vegeta comes out and looks around.

"Nothing much to this place." Nappa adds. Vegeta tilts his head.

"Let's have a look around, shall we?" He asks. I nod.

"Lead the way." We wander around, finding little to disprove our musings earlier.

"Are you sure we can get a good price for this heap?" Nappa asks. Vegeta watches a few small clouds drift by, frowning as if insulted by them.

"Doubt it." He replies. I sigh.

"Maybe we should go. We've stretched our legs." I suggest. Nappa and Vegeta shake their heads.

"We haven't gotten in any exercise." Vegeta points out.

"We could spar before we leave." I suggest." Vegeta shakes his head.

"No, let's look around a little more. There has to somethin- -" Before Vegeta can finish, our scouters go off, and we turn in the indicated direction to find two giant worm-like creatures. Vegeta tenses instantly, a very subtle trace of fear in his eyes for a moment, then he realizes they're more like a bug and relaxes.

On the bug things sit a few Arlians, pointing threateningly at us. "You are trespassing on Arlian territory!" The apparent leader growls, his voice gravelly and annoying.

"Make one move and we'll blast yah!" The other one adds. He chuckles. "It was a good day to go hunting, after all." I narrow my eyes and scoff. If this is how we're gonna be treated, killing them's fine by me.

"Let's give them a proper welcoming!" The second one sneers, drawing a sword and snickering. I sigh, playing with a strand of my hair, bored with their threats.

"Can we kill them?" I ask, voice low. Didn't want to go pissing these Arlians off if that's not what Vegeta had in mind.

"Yeah, let's blast 'em!" Nappa agrees. Vegeta subtly shakes his head.

"Easy." He replies with arms crossed, eyes on the Arlians.

"Surrender peacefully, or face the consequences!" The first Arlian that spoke growls, tiring of not being taken seriously. Vegeta smirks.

"No!" He calls back. The Arlian doesn't seem terribly shocked at this, gripping his sword and spear tighter.

"Fine, have it your way!" He replies. "Prepare to be destroyed!" a simple Ki blast comes from it, but it hits Nappa, and he didn't even flinch. I cough, waving away the dusty smoke more filling the air.

"That's the end of them." The apparent leader (the first Arlian that had spoken) muses, it and the others dismounting and taking a few steps toward us.

"And I showered just before we left." I grumble, dusting myself as best I could.

"Stop complaining." Vegeta snaps. I roll my eyes.

"I was only teasing, brother." I retort, hand on hip.

"Surrender at once!" The Arlians threaten, readying their weapons.

"Yeah? Make me!" Nappa roars back. I was about to leap out with Nappa and deal with these cretins, but then I hear Vegeta's voice in my head.

"_Nappa_!" Just that one word and I flinch, as does Nappa. After all, Vegeta could kill either of us if he wished. "_Surrender to them_." He orders. "_Let's have a little fun while we're here_." I frown.

"_I don't see how surrendering to them will be fun, but alright_." I reply, relaxing and putting my hands up.

"Fine…" Nappa grumbles aloud.

"Move in! They're giving up!" The Arlians call, coming closer. Much as I hate it, I let them cuff my hands.

"Guess we were too much for them." Another adds. I roll my eyes. If only Vegeta hadn't told us to surrender, we'd have very easily destroyed them.

"They sure are ugly." The third one grumbles. I frown.

"Says you. Looked in a mirror lately?" I reply, too low for him to hear. They load us into a cage that's dragged behind the giant bug things. I lean against the bars, frowning. "This is humiliating!" I growl.

"Patience, Sarada." Vegeta replies. "Imagine their surprise when we destroy them. They'll never know what hit them." I crack a smile. The worse they treated us, the more I itched to get to blasting. I hate being forced to submit to opponents weaker than I am.

Just as I was reaching the point of tempting fate by ignoring Vegeta's orders and destroying these idiots, we stop and are told to exit the cage. We pass by an arena of sorts where pathetic fights were being conducted haphazardly. I roll my eyes.

If this was the best of the Arlian's fighters, we'd destroy them without even getting warmed up.

We're then escorted to a cell down in the dungeon. There was a lot of groaning and moaning from the small crowd of other prisoners. I grit my teeth to avoid making a scene, following Vegeta's lead. This whole world was pretty pathetic. "Get in there, off-lings!" Our escort growls, shutting the cell door and locking it. "You're lucky your cell don't have rats; the prisoners ate 'em all!" He continues with a weird cackle.

"Remind me to get that guy, okay?" Nappa says once the Arlian's out of earshot. I smirk.

"As long as I don't get him first." I reply.

Nappa snorts. "We'll see who gets who in the end." He muses. I nod. Vegeta laughs.

"Look at those aliens!" A prisoner calls. We turn.

"Goodness, but they're an ugly trio, aren't they?" I narrow my eyes. Were they _asking_ to get destroyed?

"Maybe they think that _we're_ the ugly ones! Did you ever think of that?" The first voice huffs.

"Speak for yourself." He replies. There's more chatter among the prisoners before a voice called above all the others', silencing them.

"Quiet, all of you!" He calls. "It doesn't matter what they look like." He muses. "They're stuck in here like the rest of us." _Not for long. _I reply internally. If Vegeta wasn't talking to them, it was probably wise to assume he didn't want us talking to them, either. "Can't you see?" a few murmurs circle the gathered Arlians. "They're just more victims of the tyrant king, locked away and left to rot." I blink. So this was another civilization under the thumb of a tyrant.

...Now I might almost regret destroying them. _Almost_. The Arlian that had silenced the crowd then turns to us. "I'm afraid you visitors came at a bad time." He calls. I almost respond, but he continues. "The new king of Arlia is very ruthless! He uses the prisoners for his own amusement." _Try being forced to commit global genocide on a daily basis most of your life. _Once again, I keep this retort inside. Until Vegeta starts talking, it's probably best if we don't make a scene till we break out of here. "He even went so far as to steal my wife, Lemlia, on the day that we were to be married, so you can imagine the pain I feel." I do feel bad that he had to lose his wife that way. Maybe they could find each other before we're done killing everyone. That way, they'd see each other again, at least. Eventually, the prisoners see we're not chatty and return to sulking. After a minute or two, I hear a distant rumbling. I raise a brow.

"What's that?" I ask before I stop myself. The prisoners draw back a little from the direction it's coming from. I then hear a distant, faint scream of terror.

"That...that is The Pit of Yeti." The Arlian whose wife was stolen replies. Vegeta, Nappa, and I raise a brow, as well. I blink a few times.

"And what does that mean?" I press. Vegeta wasn't stopping me, so I assume I'm okay to keep talking.

"It's where the failed warriors are devoured by Yeti, a gigantic beast the king keeps for when there's no other entertainment to be found." I sigh.

"I see." Vegeta moves toward the door.

"Well, I think it's time. Don't you two?" I chuckle and walk over.

"I'd say so." I agree. Nappa cracks his knuckles.

"It's been time since we landed here." The Arlian I'd been talking to approaches.

"Hold on. What are you doing?" He asks. I turn to Vegeta.

"Can I break the door?" I ask, ignoring the bug behind me. Vegeta shrugs.

"I don't see why not." I turn back to the Arlian.

"This." I reply to his question raising my hand and releasing a wave of Ki that decimates the cell and most of the prisoners. "Oops. Guess I went overboard." I note, laughing. Vegeta smirks.

"To the contrary. I don't think you released _enough_ energy, sister. But no matter; let's handle the guards and pay the king a little visit before we destroy this place." I nod.

"After you, brother." I reply. I let Vegeta and Nappa take care of the guards as we walk up to the arena we'd been led through earlier.

"Aliens? Have the guards bring them to my chamber immediately!" I hear a voice I assume is the king up ahead. "Maybe _they_ can provide some entertainment fit for a king." We walk into the open arena unhurriedly.

"Don't put yourself out; we're already here." Vegeta calls and the few Arlians in the room are stunned.

"What is the meaning of this?" The king demands. "Why don't these prisoners have an armed escort in my chamber?"

"I don't know, sire; no orders were ever sent to the dungeon!" the attendant replies, shaken. I laugh.

"You see, I grew bored and may have exploded the cell. The guards, though…"

"Met with an unfortunate accident." Vegeta finishes, smirking.

"How dare you?!" The king growls. "Soon, it will be your turn to meet with an 'unfortunate accident'." I scoff.

"Doubt that." I snark back. The king turns to the female (I assume this is the wife that was stolen from that one prisoner; shame he didn't get to see her again. Oh well; can't be helped).

"You may not want to watch this, my dear." She turns her head.

"Very well." She replies.

"I'll see that my guards make short work of these repulsive creatures."

"Really?" Vegeta asks. The king thinks it over.

"Ah, let's see...yes, we'll test the big one with the shiny head first against my champion in combat. We'll save the female and short male for last; they won't put up much of a fight, I'm sure." I snicker. This moron had no idea… he motions to the champion. "Now teach them a lesson!" We turn to see a rather burly Arlian approach wearing gladiator armor like the guards and prisoners, with the same sword and shield.

"Yes, sire." The champion even sounds strong, but unfortunately, he's up against a Saiyan. He never had a chance.

"And, Esaur; I'll make sure you retire a wealthy man if you can destroy all three of them, now begin!" The king throws a handkerchief and I take a half step back.

"Have fun, Nappa." I muse wryly. Almost before I'm done speaking, the champion leaps at us, sword up and yelling. Vegeta raises two fingers and kills him in one shot, decapitating him.

"Guess that makes you the new champion, Vegeta." Nappa notes, chuckling. Vegeta chuckles, as well.

"Not bad," The king calls, "but ten of our finest warriors have mastered techniques using energy just like yours." I raise a brow.

"Then why waste time with that moron as the first opponent?" I grumble low.

"They have?" Vegeta replies louder. "Interesting. We'd like to fight them." He continues. The smirk widens. "Ready?" He taunts. The king stiffens in irritation.

"I'll see you suffer for your insolence!" The king roars. I laugh.

"Well, hate to disappoint, but you'll be the one suffering when this is over." I retort.

"Yeah, can we get on with this already?" Nappa asks. The king is even more enraged.

"How dare you!?"

"Come on, your Highness! Bring on that cricket brigade of yours!" Nappa taunts. "We're ready!" The warriors come from around the room, encircling us.

"Take a good look at my elite royal guards! Now you won't be talking so tough, will you?" In response, we let them blast us. Our stronger Ki is easily able to keep the energy from making contact with us. Vegeta chuckles.

"Was that it?" He asks coyly. "It felt good. Real...refreshing." I scoff.

"Yeah, I might just fall asleep it was so soothing."

"Ergh, I'll make you pay!" One of the guards growls. "You think you can just walk out of here?! You are sadly mistaken." I yawn.

"Still bored. We'll be out of here in less than five minutes." I reply. "And we won't even break a sweat."

"Guards, attack!" The king orders. "Destroy them!"

"We got 'em now!" They cry, coming closer. "Attack!" Vegeta raises the same two fingers and performs the same thing again. He takes out a few of the guards and I get into a stance.

"Who's next?" I taunt. One makes the mistake of coming too close. I barely touch him and he goes flying, crumpling lifeless to the ground. "Anyone- -Nappa, c'mon!" I growl as Nappa begins powering up.

"Let him have his fun, Sarada." Vegeta says and I huff but stand down. Within seconds, Nappa released the pent up energy and it completely destroys the guards. Nothing was left except the King, the stolen Queen, and the advisor. Then, from behind us, we hear clanking like gears being turned and up comes a rather large Arlian that seems feral.

Interesting.

"So. It's the old Bug-in-the-Ground trick." Vegeta muses, unconcerned.

"Not impressed." I add, smirking. The king comes down a few steps and points to us.

"Yeti, destroy these creatures! They're bad! Very bad!" I laugh.

"Running away to your pet monster, eh? What a pathetic king you are." I growl. A real king would handle threats to his people himself, not rely on a beast like this.

"We're bad?" Nappa asks as if the thought was just occurring to him.

"Well...a little." Vegeta replies, an almost wry tone in his voice. I roll my eyes.

"Vegeta, we destroy planets for a living. Yeah, we're bad." He shrugs.

"If it pays well, who cares?" Before I can reply, Yeti starts to come toward us. We lead the giant beast on a good chase, never letting a single attack or energy blast hit us, terrifying the few other Arlians around and making a mess of the arena. Finally, Nappa has enough.

"Hey, ugly!" He calls, catching a finger of the hand that tries to swat him. After briefly struggling with it, he tears the finger off, leaving Yeti howling in pain. Yeti then tries to grab Nappa, who zips toward Yeti's tail.

"Nappa, let me finish him. You got to destroy the guards." I call before he can do anything, moving closer.

"Yes, why not, Nappa?" Vegeta calls. "You've had your fun, let my sister have a turn." Nappa obediently withdraws closer to Vegeta. I walk over unhurriedly, cracking my knuckles. Yeti charges me and I dodge like Nappa did, raising two fingers. I send a simple wave to chop him in half horizontally, walking toward the head.

"Poor poor Yeti." I taunt as the beast struggles to do anything against me. "Never stood a chance. I'll at least end your suffering quickly." I tell him, managing a sarcastic tone despite actually meaning it. This poor beast didn't really have a choice in what he became, did he? Like us Saiyans.

I then extend my hand, unleashing a blast that completely incinerated him.

"No! Impossible!" The king cries, retreating. I turn to watch, allowing Vegeta to destroy him.

"Coward." Vegeta growls. The energy he releases sends rocks flying around, a few smacking the cowardly king, who pleas fall on deaf ears as Vegeta continues the assault. Once the throne crumbles and crushes the king, Vegeta taps his scouter. "Computer." He calls. "Send the pods at once." I sigh.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted, I guess." I muse, dusting myself off. "I, for one, am ready to continue to earth."

"Agreed." Nappa adds. Vegeta nods.

"Then no more diversions." He says.

"Do you three realize what you have done?" The prisoner I'd talked to says, suddenly appearing. I blink.

"Oh. You're still alive." I mumble to myself. Now he might be able to reunite with his wife, whatever her name was.

"You have freed our planet from centuries of bondage." The Arlian continues.

"We did it for sport; not because we care about your stupid problems." I grumble. "It was a mere coincidence it ended up freeing your people."

"And Arlia is now a place where a new beginning can be made." Always the optimist, this guy. Too bad my brother will likely blow up the planet. "From now on, you three visitors from space will be known as heroes to our people." I almost like the sound of that. Too bad the title won't last. "I can't begin to tell you how very grateful I am."

"Keep your gratitude; we're leaving." I call as the pods come to a stop above us. We fly up to them unhurriedly.

"Farewell, my friends! You will always be welcome here, on Arlia!" The prisoner calls, waving. I almost wave back, but why give him false hope? He won't last another thirty seconds.

"Let's go, you two. We couldn't give this place away if we wanted to." Vegeta grumbles. I nod.

"Agreed. Such a shame they think they'll be able to start over." I sigh and prepare the stasis settings.

"But that thing back there said we were heroes." Nappa counters. I shrug.

"Well, we were there for less than five hours. Anyone can misjudge someone in that time." I retort with another sigh.

"She's right; being a hero is highly overrated." Vegeta agrees.

"Too bad. This was just a big waste of time then. Ugh." Nappa sighs.

"Yeah, but we did stretch our legs and get some fresh air." I point out with a touch of coyness. "Too bad we didn't even break a sweat."

"We do still have Earth to conquer." Vegeta counters. I blink.

"Oh yeah. Good point." I then finish setting up the timer for the stasis as Vegeta notes that he has unfinished business to take care of. I sigh and stop the pod.

"This planet has a serious bug problem." Vegeta quips. I don't watch as the energy blast hits the planet. Just another species destroyed.

Just another act of genocide we'd have on our heads.

Just another day in the life of a Saiyan.

"There's nothing like a little fireworks when you say goodbye." Vegeta notes wryly. I roll my eyes, but don't comment.

"Ha! And the moon, too. Nice touch!" Nappa compliments over the sound of a planet dying.

"I think we made the universe a cleaner place today." Vegeta concludes as the sound fades into the nothingness of space.

"They really deserved what they got." Nappa affirms. " I just hope Earth is a lot better than this planet."

Vegeta nods, "It will be. Earth has the Dragonballs. Once we find them, we'll be able to wish for whatever we want." I nod to myself. That was the entire reason I'm going to Earth. I'd rather not kill anyone, but if I have to, I have to. Vegeta then turns to my pod. "You're being awfully quiet, Sarada. Everything alright?" I nod.

"Yes. Just setting up the stasis and trying to find the recording of Raditz's time on earth. I'm curious as to what I missed." Vegeta nods.

"Good thinking, Sarada. Don't stay awake too long catching up, though. I want you at peak strength when we arrive. No sense going into this with even the slightest weakness." I nod.

"Of course, Vegeta. He wasn't on Earth long, so it won't be difficult." He nods.

"Well then, I'll leave you to it." I nod and we take off again. I do find the recording and am shocked at how soft Kakarot had gotten in his time on the planet. He cared for the people there and had even started a family, and seemed to genuinely care about them. Of course, the amnesia from an accidental blow to the head made him softer, as well. Raditz was quick to exploit his brother's weakness by kidnapping his nephew. The kidnapping seemed to enrage Kakarot, who recruited an ally, defeated his brother, and retrieve his son (though he died to make sure his ally's attack landed).

I find myself rooting for Kakarot, discovering a bit of myself in this seemingly kind-hearted Saiyan. It seems it is possible to be gentle and be of Saiyan heritage. Maybe...just maybe...I can find the balance Kakarot seems to have found.

Maybe I can finally let that spark of warmth in my heart grow into a fire for all to see. The Dragonballs seemed to be the key to reaching this balance, so by any means necessary, I'll get them and wish for eternal life so we can get rid of Freeza and find our own path in life!

I swear I will!

**I know I know! The ending is mega cheesy, but, ah, what can I say? I'm a sap! XD Anyway, hope you all liked this 'Episode'! :) Let me know what y'all thought of it!**

**Oh, and before I forget, FoggyJarl166 on fanfiction.net suggested I do periodic time-lapse and power level update!**

**Time lapsed: I don't remember exactly, but I think it's been around five months, give or take, right? Gohan's still on his own and Goku still hasn't reached King Kai, so I think that's a safe assumption. Please feel free to correct me!**

**Power Level: Sarada is usually only about 50 or so 'points' behind Vegeta, so let's say his power level is around 18000, like someone mentioned before they knew he powered up. That would put Sarada's power around 17500 or so. Nappa, I wanna say, was closer to 15000 or 10000, right? Again, please correct me if I'm wrong!**


	3. Darkest Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio of Saiyans arrive on Earth and quickly finds Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillan, challenging them to a fight for the Dragonballs and the fate of the planet.

**So I'm calling this 'season 1' but I don't really know where the seasons end because I watch it online, so...**

**Anyway, each season will be about 25 episode insertions, or basically most of if not all of a given arc. Probably for the longer arcs, I'll have to split it up a bit. We'll see. **

**Anyway, can't wait to get further in this story and share Sarada's story with you all! So let's get to this new chapter! Hope you all like it!**

**God Bless and Good Day! **

**~The Lupine Sojourner**

The next thing I was aware of was a huge jolting crash. I barely stop myself from going headfirst into the computer. I hold my neck, already feeling a bit of whiplash. Blearily, I reach for the latch to get out. Guess we’d arrived. 

“Alien!” Someone screams as we exit the pod. I groan, rubbing my neck. I glare up at the edge of the crater and see several gathered locals, all peering down at us, most with fear, some with curiosity. I roll my shoulders out as I hear Vegeta and Nappa exit their pods. 

“My neck is killing me.” Nappa groans. 

“Yeah, think I got slight whiplash from the landing. It’ll fade.” I reply. Smirking, I float up, pleased to see Vegeta and Nappa joining me moments later, to panicked murmurs and outcries among the crowd. We land on the other side of the crater from the crowd, scanning the surroundings briefly and taking in Earth. Really not much here. 

No wonder it was so low on the rankings. 

“So what should we do with these gawking fools?” Nappa asks. 

“We might want to ask them about the Dragonballs.” I point out. “If the dragonballs can do what Kakarot’s ally from the recording says they can, they most likely are a treasure known to all.” 

“A good deduction, Sarada.” Vegeta praises, “However. If the dragonballs are as powerful as the ally says they are, wouldn’t it be wiser to keep it secret?” He counters. “After all, a powerful artifact like that should be closely guarded, right? Wouldn’t want it falling into the wrong hands.” He smirks, crossing his arms. I shrug and cross my arms, as well. 

“You make a good point there, Vegeta.” 

“Can I blow them up?” Nappa interjects. “They bother me.” I feel my eye twitch subtly. I didn’t want to kill anyone I didn’t have to, but if Vegeta says Nappa can, I don’t want to dig my grave by objecting. 

“Oh…I don’t know.” Vegeta says, still smirking. “Why don’t you decide for once?” I feel sorry for these earthlings. They won’t know what hit them. 

“Heh. Really?” Nappa asks. “Thanks, Vegeta. This is gonna be a lot of fun for me!” I move closer to Vegeta to give Nappa a bit more room and watch as he prepares to attack. 

“Don’t mention it.” Vegeta replies, chuckling. Nappa laughs, gathering energy in his hand and releasing it in a wave that comes up from underground, decimating the surrounding area in an impressively large radius. The wave increases and I imagine it could be seen from out in space. As it dies down, I view the aftermath. 

It was a painfully familiar picture. A rather large crater, crumbling city on it’s edges. 

A few burnt shoes here, maybe a child’s toy there, glass shards glittering like uncovered jewels in the sunlight. 

All a grotesque picture of the life I’ve led alongside my brother and Nappa, who’s laughing at the sheer destruction he’d wrought. “Do you think I was trying too hard to impress them, you two?” He asks coyly. We float above where we’d been standing. 

I sigh. “There isn’t anyone left _to_ impress, Nappa.” I point out. 

“I should have known better than to let you have any fun. I’m beginning to think we should have followed Sarada’s advice and asked them about the dragonballs. But,” He cuts off Nappa’s apology, “if my hunch is correct, they wouldn’t have known. Besides, no point squabbling over it now.” 

“Yeah, c’mon; a little destruction won’t affect the sale price of this planet.” Nappa adds. 

“We’re here for the Dragonballs, Nappa.” I retort. “Not necessarily to prep it for selling, although that could excuse our presence here against orders.” 

“We’re here for the wish only. I don’t give a damn about orders.” Vegeta cuts in, and then turns to Nappa. “You do remember the wish, right Nappa?” Nappa flinches a little. 

“Well…yeah. We were gonna wish for…immortality, weren’t we?” Vegeta’s frown deepens. 

“Good, and we need all seven balls. Now, let me ask you; what if one of the balls happened to be in the city you just destroyed?” Nappa deflates completely. 

“Uh…I’m sorry. I guess I just forgot about that, huh?” I sigh. 

“Look, Vegeta’s theory about them being hidden and well-guarded makes a lot of sense. More than likely, no one would hide something of that value in a city like this. But don’t destroy anything that big again, alright?” Vegeta nods in agreement and Nappa licks his lips. 

“Alright.” 

“Now let’s all forget about it. What’s done cannot be undone.” Vegeta says. “First, we need to find out who has the highest power level. He’ll be the one who took down Radditz.” Almost simultaneously, we click our scouters and the beeping fills the silence. 

“Huh?” Nappa gasps after a few moments. “More than half a dozen people on this planet have power levels over a thousand! How is that possible?” I frown. 

“I don’t know.” 

“How should I know?” Vegeta snaps, cutting over whatever else I was about to say. 

“Maybe they’ve been preparing for us.” I suggest. “Radditz did say we were coming.” Vegeta scoffs. 

“Lucky guess. For all he knew, we had our scouters turned off and didn’t hear a thing he said. That fool was an embarrassment.” He then clicks his scouter. “Now, we need to find the biggest power level.” He orders, redirecting us back to the task at hand. Vegeta scans one hemisphere and Nappa and I take the other. Almost immediately, we find the two largest power levels, almost equal to each other. 

“Just found two of them!” Nappa reports. 

“They definitely have the highest fighting powers on the planet.” I confirm. Vegeta turns, smirking excitedly. 

“Really? Good, then. This may be interesting after all.” Nappa grunts in agreement and we take off, flying towards it as fast as we could. 

“Heh. Amazing.” Nappa notes, “This planet’s weak gravity makes me feel like a kid again. I’m invincible!” I grin. It did make me feel rather giddy. I remember the first time I went into the training chamber with Vegeta and experienced increased gravity. We were only in there an hour, but when I came out, it was like I had wings. Everything was so much lighter. 

Those were the days…before Frieza started assigning us missions. 

Before we lost whatever innocence we had. 

Vegeta simply keeps flying. “Don’t fall behind, Nappa.” I caution, keeping my voice even, but I worried what would happen if one of us screwed up. There’s no telling with Vegeta sometimes. 

He is my brother, but even so, he pushes me harder than anyone, expecting great things. He says it’s because he sees my potential, but I think it’s just because I’m his blood and he doesn’t want to be embarrassed by his sister failing.

I shake myself and keep flying. Nappa stops clowning around, stays with us, and we continue in silence. Within the next few minutes, we arrive, and I must say…

Not what I was expecting. 

One of the figures is nothing more than a child, wearing some kind of baggy purple clothing, probably the Earth equivalent of our training outfits. 

The new figure, one with the second lowest power level, but not by much, is bald, wearing an orange and blue outfit somewhat like the other two, recognizable as yet another version of Earth’s training outfits. 

The largest figure is green and- -wait…he’s a Namekian? I’ve heard of them, sure, but I’d never been this close to one. He wears a similar outfit to the boy’s, all but confirming it was some kind of training uniform. He scowls at us as the others subtly begin to tremble. It was clear the Namekian was the strongest, and had the most experience. Plus, with him being a Namekian, according to intel I’d heard, he should almost certainly know about the Dragonballs and probably even where they are. 

All we had to do was get that information out of him. Hopefully without destroying too much of the planet or killing too many people. 

Nappa laughs, drawing me from my thoughts. “So, one more joined ‘em.” He muses. “What’dyah suppose these three are doing out in the middle of nowhere?” We slowly descend as Nappa’s talking, and I scoff. 

“Isn’t it obvious?” I ask rhetorically. 

“They were waiting for us.” Vegeta chuckles. “Yes, I’m sure of it.” Waiting for us in the middle of a wasteland was actually a smart move. 

The further the fight is from civilization, the less they had to worry about collateral damage. 

That means they intended to fight like hell. 

I find I can respect that, even if it was fruitless. Our power levels were simply too high for even the Namekian to defeat. Even Nappa could easily get rid of them. 

“Whoa, this is it! It’s really happening!” The bald one whimpers, shaking even as he assumes a fighting stance. “So. These are the Saiyans.” I smirk. “Can you feel those power levels?!” I blink, all smugness gone. ‘Feel’ power levels? That was a new one. Was it possible to sense power levels without a scouter? How interesting. “They’re even stronger than I imagined!” The shaking becomes more visible, fear evident in both the boy and the bald one’s eyes. “What’re we gonna do, guys?” As the bald man speaks, we descend. Then we land. 

“So, we meet at last.” Vegeta muses, arms crossed and expression extremely smug. Nappa chuckles and I find myself almost rooting for our opponents. They were fighting to protect their planet, and I respect their tenacity, despite their outward fear. 

“The pleasure’s mine.” The Namekian growls in response, and I blink. 

“Vegeta, he’s the ally Kakarot found to retrieve his kid. This Namekian is the one who killed Radditz.” I whisper, moving subtly closer to my brother. 

Regardless of if heard me, the Namekian continues. “I’m only gonna say this once; leave this planet! This is your first and last chance to get out of this alive.” 

“You’re right, sister.” Vegeta muses aloud, his smirk widening. “He is the one who defeated Radditz one year ago. I recognize his voice” The Namekian blinks. 

“…My voice?” He asks, almost to himself. I nod. 

“Didn’t Radditz tell you?” I ask rhetorically, tapping my scouter. “Our scouters also work as communicators. We heard everything that was said while Raditz was here.” I explain, crossing my arms and smirking. If I had to fight, I had to. This Namekian, however, might be very interesting to deal with. I wonder how much experience he has and just what he plans to do. 

“Wait, you said the green one was from Namek, right?” Nappa asks, ending my train of thought. I turn to reply to Nappa, but Vegeta beats me to it. 

“Yes, he’s from Namek, alright.” He says. “No wonder Radditz had such a hard time with him and Kakarot.” I nod. 

“That, and Radditz was an idiot.” I add. Vegeta chuckles. 

“That, too.” Something strange happens in the Namekian’s face. It’s almost as if he were shocked to hear that he was a Namekian. As if he didn’t already know that. He mumbles something, then appears to be wrestling with the information. 

“Piccolo, I didn’t know you were from space.” The bald one muses in slight shock to the now trembling Namekian. ‘Piccolo’ (if that’s his name) appeared mad now, ready to fight. “Course, it makes sense.” The short bald one continues. 

“You didn’t know?” Vegeta asks condescendingly. “Well, what a surprise!” His tone then turns amused. “Surely, you must have suspected something before now.” He continues. “The green skin and pointy ears are a dead giveaway, don’t you think?” 

“Not to mention the antennas coming from your forehead.” I add. Honestly, it was surprising he didn’t already figure it out, but stranger things have happened, I suppose. “Now, you were the one who told Radditz about the Dragonballs. So tell us; where are they?” I demand. If I played this right, we might not have to kill everyone. If this Namekian is smart, he’ll tell us and we’ll be on our way to immortality. The bald one pales. 

“B-but, no one knows where they are! Not for a whole year!” He protests. I raise a brow. 

“What?” I snap. Before the human can reply, Nappa cuts in. 

“That’s enough. We know the balls are down here.” He growls. “Make no mistake; we will find them. With you alive or with you dead; it’s your decision. Tell us where they are, or you will all be killed.” 

The Namekian, Piccolo, smiles. “I wanna thank you.” I raise a brow. What? “Because of you, I now know I come from the planet Namek. But this is my planet now, and no one is going to tell me what to do with it!” I gotta hand it to Piccolo: He’s very brave. However…

“I admire your bravery, but it’s futile.” I retort. “We’re far stronger than that fool, Radditz. You won’t win.” I warn, hands forming fists and eyes narrowing. “Now tell us where the Dragonballs are!” If we really had to fight, I had no choice but to go all out, no matter how much I didn’t want to kill these fighters.

“Back off!” Piccolo barks. “We’re not here to bow to your demands! We’re here to fight!” He gets into a stance. “So go ahead and do whatever it is you came here to do!” before anyone can do anything, there’s a buzzing sound and an approaching wind, then odd hovering vehicles appear. Before they do anything, Nappa shoots one down. I know better than to protest. Anything I said would probably be viewed as weak and soft. 

The two earthlings get into stances as the flying vehicles retreat. 

“I don’t think they’re going to tell us where the Dragonballs are, Nappa.” Vegeta muses wryly.

“Wanna bet?” Nappa replies, smirking. “Alright! Let’s see how strong you really are!” He clicks the scouter. “The kid’s at 1000.” He reports. I blink. Really? Impressive for an earthling that young. “The Namek’s at 1400, and the midget is at 1100.” I narrow my eyes in resignation. Too bad, though. They just don’t compare to us. Nappa scoffs. “You fools! Do you really think you can beat us with such puny power levels?” I refrain from pointing out that Nappa didn’t stand far above them, choosing to just watch. 

“Hey, Nappa, Sarada! Take your scouter off!” Vegeta suddenly orders. I do, glad to be rid of the thing. I never liked it except that it let me keep in contact with Vegeta. That’s the only reason I keep this thing around. 

“What?” Nappa asks, despite reaching for his scouter as Vegeta and I remove ours. 

“It seems they know how to concentrate their energy and raise their power levels.” Vegeta explains, dropping his scouter to the ground. “These figures are most unreliable.” It takes a second, but Nappa understands quickly, taking his scouter off. 

“Hey, right. Good call.” Nappa replies, and his scouter hits the ground seconds later. “Now I remember that pathetic loser Radditz let himself be fooled by all their power readings.” Piccolo realizes we’re about to start fighting and warns his allies to be ready. 

“Wait, Piccolo, if they’re stronger than radditz, and Goku isn’t here, then how do you expect to defeat them with just us?” The bald earthling asks. In response, Piccolo says nothing, gritting his teeth. Likely, he knew this battle wouldn’t end well, but was willing to fight anyway. I find a measure of respect in that. The bald one then gets back into a ready position, looking nervous but ready to fight. Again, I can respect their bravery, despite knowing it would lead to their demise. “Oh well, guys. Let’s just do it!” The poor earthling has no idea what we’re capable of, does he? He’ll learn soon enough. 

Vegeta then gets a look that says he has an idea. “Nappa, I believe it’s time to have a little fun with them.” he muses. I raise a brow. 

“How?” I ask. Vegeta just turns to Nappa. 

“Get those Saibamen out. There should be six of them left. They’ll do.” I snort. 

“Really? They’re as strong as Radditz. These earthlings might overpower them.” I point out, voice too low for the earthlings and Namekian to hear. Or so I thought. I didn’t notice Piccolo narrow his eyes in my direction.

“Nonsense. They barely handled Radditz. The Saibamen will be fine.” Vegeta replies and I sigh. 

“Alright then.” 

“Yer too much!” Nappa laughs. “You really know how to have fun.” Yeah, because watching a 6-on-3 battle sounds like a good time. I knew this opinion would be mocked and might get me into trouble, however, so I keep it inside as Nappa begins rooting in his armor for the Saibamen. 

“I don’t see any men.” The little boy points out, brow raised in confusion. 

“You will in a second.” I reply, smirking. I had to keep up the act, but I was concerned about this boy being in a battle such as this. After all, at his age (or at least, the age I thought he was; probably somewhere around 5 years old) I was still just sparring with instructors and Vegeta. I hadn’t been in an actual battle yet. Granted, I was going on assignments with Vegeta just a year later, but this was a literal child that was about to clobbered by a Saibaman. I’m not sure I’ll be able to watch the whole thing. 

Our opponents watch as Nappa fishes the vial out, and sure enough, there are six, as Nappa notes aloud. “Maybe these Saibamen can persuade them to tell us where the Dragonballs are, huh Nappa?” Vegeta asks, smirking. Nappa laughs. 

“Oh, I think they can arrange that.” Nappa replies, using his finger to make six holes in the ground and putting the seeds inside, covering the holes, then pouring the weird liquid that made them grow on the patch of ground the seeds were in. it seeps into the ground and I almost sigh. This would not be pretty, would it? 

“Uh….okay…what’re they doing?” I overhear the bald earthling ask rhetorically. 

“I think we’re about to find out.” Piccolo replies grimly. 

“There.” Nappa says, tossing the Saibamen container aside, watching the patch as we wait for them to grow and come out. It doesn’t take more than a few moments, Vegeta and Nappa chuckling as the little aliens pop out of the ground. I always found them ugly and fairly useless aside from training partners when I was younger. This was not how I wanted to spend my time on Earth, but if Vegeta says it’s what we’re doing, there’s no real arguing with him. 

“Well…at least…they’re shorter than I am.” The bald one (I really should learn their names.) mumbles nervously as the Saibamen set their eyes on him and his allies. 

“And you’ll die with your sense of humor intact.” I retort, chuckling. “You won’t live long enough to lose it.” As I say this, the Saibamen leap out and run in circles around the group, chuckling and grunting evilly and generally intimidating our opponents. They then proceed to wreck a few of the surrounding outcroppings to show off their skills and power. It seems to work. 

If these people thought the Saibamen were bad…this battle will be over with all too soon, and we likely won’t learn anything about the Dragonballs. 

“They’re brainless, crazy monsters!” The bald midget cries. The Saibamen return to us and I shake my head. 

“Not quite brainless, but not truly autonomous, either.” I reply. “More like, very obedient henchmen that are actually decently powerful.” He gulps, but remains in a fighting stance. 

“This should be a pretty good matchup.” Vegeta muses. “These Saibamen seem spunky.” 

“I’ll take the two on the left.” The short adult calls. 

“I’ll take the two in the middle. The other two are yours, Gohan.” Ah. So Gohan is the boy’s name. To his credit, the boy deepens his stance, determination in his face. I wonder…

The other earthling mentioned that someone named ‘Goku’ was on his way, but obviously not here yet. Gohan…Goku…hmmm…I’ll bet Gohan is the son that was kidnapped a year ago by Radditz. Which means, Goku could be Kakarot. I’d have to review the recording to confirm, but…I think I remember that mixup in the names.

“Okay.” Gohan replies, cutting my train of thought off. The air grows tense as the battle nears the start. 

I for one am curious how this will play out. The Saibamen were around Radditz’s power level, so unless the Namekian and his friends have trained and raised their levels a decent amount, I doubt this fight will last long. 

Despite knowing he’s against us, I almost want to protect Gohan. He’s too young to be fighting in real battles, even if he has a rather impressive power level for his age. 

There’s just something about him that makes me want to make sure he’s okay. 

But I know I can’t show this outwardly, so all I can do is watch and hope Piccolo and the other earthling protect him if things get bad, which they more than likely are.

After all, their power levels just weren’t comparable to ours and I seriously doubt they can match the Saibamen, either. I hate watching uneven matches like this. But I don’t really have a choice, so I prepare myself mentally. 

This might get bloody. 

**These chapters will only be as long as the episodes go, so I cover what the episode covers, okay? I hope you guys are liking this story so far! I know I’m having a lot of fun writing it.**

**Okay, time skip info! Um, I think it’s about another 5-6 months, then maybe ten minutes after the Saiyans land til the meeting of Piccolo, Gohan, Krillan, Vegeta, Sarada, and Nappa.**

**The power levels of the Saiyans haven’t changed, so Sarada is still around 17500 or so. Now, Nappa mentioned the power levels of Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillan, so I don’t have to put them here. **

**Anyway, hope you are looking forward to the next chapter! :) **


	4. Saibamen Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the fate of the world in the balance, the Z-Fighters reluctantly agree to one-on-one matches against the Saiyans' Saibamen. Yamcha takes the initiative, stepping up to fight for his planet.

**I couldn't wait to put this one out lol. Had it all ready to go so I figured why wait? Anyway, hope you all like this chapter! I'd love to hear what y'all think of Sarada and this story so far! :)**

**God Bless and Good Day!**

**~The Lupine Sojourner**

Much as I hate killing innocent people, I can’t help but almost anticipate this fight. The Saiyan craving for battle was always there, in some way, even if I were merely spectating. 

However, that changed when Gohan started trembling, scared out of his mind. 

It reminded me just what was happening here; we were about to watch a child get murdered. I know he has a pretty high power level for his age, but that doesn’t change the fact that he couldn’t have been much older than 5. He should still be sparring, not fighting a losing battle for his planet! 

But then again, he is the son of a Saiyan, so perhaps he would find some hidden strength like his father and overcome the challenge of the Saibamen. Perhaps. 

The bald one glances over. “Gohan, pay attention!” He chides, still in a fighting stance. “Your thoughts are unfocused.” Gohan nods, swallowing. He gets into a tighter stance, eyes narrowing in bravado. 

“O-okay!” He says, clearly putting on a brave face. 

“You don’t have to be scared.” Piccolo adds, never taking his eyes off us or loosening his stance. Now that I take another look, and have seen them interact more, I notice how similar Piccolo and Gohan’s clothes were and how familiar they seemed with each other. 

Had they trained together? Were Gohan and Piccolo student and teacher? 

“Right!” Gohan replies, sounding a bit more confident. 

That confidence was instantly lost as the Saibamen leapt forward to attack, Gohan returning to a scarred little boy on the battlefield. Despite the fact that he’s our enemy right now, I almost want to protect him. 

Luckily, the battle is fought around Gohan, resulting in him looking confused and terrified, but unharmed as his allies take on our henchmen. 

That ends, however, when there’s a lull in the fight and one of the Saibamen notices Gohan, attacking instantly. Despite his power level, Gohan can’t seem to block or dodge, taking the hit and going flying. I narrow my eyes. 

“For pity’s sake!” I growl, voice low, trying to sound like Vegeta would, arms crossed to prevent myself lashing out at the Saibamen for such a cowardly attack, and to appear irritated at Gohan’s lack of battle prowess. “Doesn’t that boy have any training?” I notice that the Namekian appeared to have heard me, head twitching very subtly in my direction, but the next instant he’s standing protectively in front of Gohan. 

_ Good. At least Gohan has some backup. _ I think in relief.  _ Maybe he’d survive after all.  _

The Saibamen stop short, unsure of taking the pair of them on at once. 

“Gohan, believe in yourself!” Piccolo snaps. Gohan stares at the Saibamen, still scarred. 

“I’ll...try.” He replies. 

“Don’t try; do it!” Piccolo growls in response as Gohan gets to his feet, trying that brave face again. 

“Right!” 

“Awww.” Nappa coos condescendingly. “Isn’t that cute?” Gohan seems a little unsettled by the remark, and I have to play the part of a tough Saiyan, despite actually finding the exchange sweet. 

“The teacher and the student, fighting side by side. Warms my heart.” I add, hand dramatically spread over my heart, snide smirk on my face.

I really hate having to wear this mask, but if I take it off, I’m doomed. 

“Mine, too.” Vegeta agrees sarcastically, snickering. 

“Don’t listen to those jerks, Gohan.” The bald earthling advises. “They’ll get what’s coming to ‘em soon enough!” 

Before anyone can say or do anything else, there’s a high pitched voice coming from up above us. “Krillan!” I frown. Who- -what the hell?

Descending from the sky is arguably the oddest couple of fighters I’ve seen in my life. 

One was a very muscular earthling (at least, I think he’s an earthling) with three eyes and no shirt. His toned chest was bare, showing off some impressive looking scars and his history with fighting. His pants were of a similar style to Gohan and Piccolo’s, covering half his abdomen, the dark green pants and gold belt highlighting his tanned skin. The oddest part about him was his third eye, centered in his forehead. 

The other one...was a mime. His face was white, looking almost painted, with little red circles on his cheeks and wide, childlike eyes. He had a grey tank top on and pants similar to the burly man’s, so I can assume they trained together, like Piccolo and Gohan. 

The bald earthling (was he ‘Krillan’?) turns, smiling, to greet the newcomers. “Hey, guys!” He calls. I raise a brow. Was he seriously dropping his guard just because his friends showed up?

“Hi, Krillan!” The mime replies. So that confirms the name theory. 

“Thanks for stopping by!” Krillan says as if this were no more than a simple errand run or something. The mime nods. “We could use the help.” I sigh. If they get past the Saibaman, they’d have us to deal with, so it’s pointless even correcting Krillan. I think it’d be better to let our actions speak for us. The big guy narrows his eyes at the Saibamen. 

“Looks like the Saiyans brought some of their friends along for the ride.” He muses. Krillan cracks a smile as he glances over at us. 

“No...they grew them here.” The two newcomers blink. 

“What?” The mime asks. 

“Don’t ask.” Krillan replies with a chuckle. The big guy frowns. 

“That’s okay; it doesn’t really matter.” Now I’ve heard his voice, I can at least know that this isn’t Kakarot. The big guy then looks at Gohan. 

“Who’s the kid? It that Goku’s little boy?” He asks. Krillan nods as Gohan looks at the newcomer. 

“Uh-huh. His names’s Gohan. Piccolo’s been training him.” I smirk. That confirms my suspicions about the outfits and their meaning. Burly Guy (that’s what I’ll call him til I learn his name) nods, eyes narrowing in seriousness. 

“He’s bold like his father.” Burly Guy notes. The mime smiles and looks ready to say something when Nappa finally gets irritated. 

“Enough of this garbage!” He snaps. “Saibamen! I wanna hear them beg for mercy.” I swallow. Here we go. Time to watch this group get killed. The group gets into a fighting stance as the Saibamen prepare to charge. I set my jaw and prepare myself, but then there’s a voice from above that interrupts yet again. 

“Wait for me!” It calls, sounding male. Sure enough, a man in an orange training outfit with a blue belt to match Krillan lands near the other earthlings, standing and turning, smiling cockily at his friends. “What’s up?” He asks. “Sorry I’m late.” I sigh. 

“He-hey, Yamcha!” Krillan cheers. The newest intruder into our battle, this Yamcha character, smiles in sheer arrogance. I sigh. He doesn’t look all that impressive, similar to the others to be any real threat. He was just cocky, that’s all. His hair is long and unkempt, reminding me of Radditz. I decide I don’t really like Yamcha. 

“So, why’s everyone acting so serious around here?” He asks. 

“If you’d arrived earlier, you’d know, earthling.” I growl, more to myself than this Yamcha, arms crossing again in genuine annoyance. I hated prolonging a fight like this. Yamcha seems to sober up a little. 

“Regardless, Sarada, it’s six against six; their warriors against our Saibamen. It's perfect.” Vegeta adds. I nod. 

“Even numbers should be more fun to watch.” I agree. And I genuinely wanted to see how this played out. 

“Agreed. This may just prove to be interesting after all.” Vegeta continues. 

Nappa chuckles. “I can’t wait.” Vegeta cocks his head to the side as though he has an idea. 

“Gentlemen, how would you like to make a match of this and fight our soldiers one by one?” I almost want to hug Vegeta. This way, there’s a chance that, just maybe, a few could survive and I should be able to convince Nappa and my brother to let them live, provided they tell us where the Dragonballs are and how to use them. No one replies immediately, so I spread my arms. 

“It’s really in your best interest.” I shrug as if unbothered by the thought of either outcome. “It’s the best offer you’ll get out of us. It should prove an entertaining game, at least.” I add. Please...please take the challenge. Please! 

“Well?” Vegeta demands. “You heard my sister. What’s your answer?” 

Piccolo growls, setting his jaw as if offended by the offer. “We aren’t here to play games! And we’re not going to fight on your terms!” He snaps. I frown. Crap! “We’ll take you all on at once!” I click my tongue as if to chide him like a child. 

“That’s not wise, if you want to survive. Of course, either way, you won’t last long, but you might want to consider Gohan.” Piccolo and Gohan flinch. I knew it was a low blow, the enemy bringing up a point like that, but if I were to convince them to take the offer, this might be the way to do it. 

“How dare you bring him into this?!” Picollo roars. I stand my ground, not looking sorry (because I wasn’t) and glaring right back at him.

“He-hey, now. Easy.” Krillan pipes up. “Crazy and cruel as they are, the woman has a point. Besides, we are still waiting for Goku to show up.” Krillan adds. “We could buy ourselves some time if we play it their way.” Piccolo glares at me, and I know I definitely crossed a line. I do feel bad, but if it all works out, I think he’ll forgive me. Gohan moves a little more behind Piccolo and my heart pangs in sympathy. It was scary for me, at first, but I quickly learned I had to be strong. Gohan had to learn that lesson eventually. 

Burly Guy steps forward, making up his mind with a confident smirk. “I’ll go first.” He announces. “I’m not afraid of these creeps.” He pounds his fists together in a show of bravery. “It’ll be a good warm up.” Nappa laughs. 

“That’s the spirit!” He replies happily. I exhaled in relief. At least they were going one on one. I didn’t care that they were stalling. In fact, I was starting to hope Goku (who I believe is Kakarot) does show up. It’ll be interesting to meet Radditz’s long-lost brother. If he’s as strong as Radditz, he’ll be a good challenge for the Saibamen, if they’re still around by then. 

Something tells me they might not be. These Earthlings seem to be pretty confident, but…

“We’ll see how long you last.” I muse, finally about to see some action. Part of me knows it most likely won’t end well, but the Saiyan side of me is excited to finally see what these Earthlings can do. 

“Exactly, Sarada!” Nappa cheers. “Fresh meat for the grinder!” I roll my eyes as Burly Man prepares himself. “But just wait! You won’t be so cocky when you see what these ‘little creeps’ can do!” Nappa warns. Burly Guy seems unbothered. The Saibamen cackle in response. 

“Alright.” Burly Guy notes, watching the Saibamen laugh. “I hear a lot of noise, but no volunteers.” He taunts. Vegeta then turns to a random Saibaman. 

“Alright, you go, but don’t hold anything back, got it?” He instructs sternly. The Saibaman grins in anticipation, nodding and walking closer to his opponent. The mime, appearing very worried for his friend, calls out. 

“Tien, be careful!” So that’s Burly Guy’s name. Tien. Somehow, it seems fitting for a no-nonsense, straightforward man as this Earthling appears to be. Just then, as if the universe itself didn’t want any fighting to happen anytime soon, those strange flying machines from earlier appear on the horizon, quickly coming closer. I grit my teeth. 

“What an annoying machine!” I growl. 

“Of course the news shows up.” Krillan grumbles, as if he too were irritated by the flying machines’ presence and interruption. I then realize what the machines were. It appears, based on what Krillan said, that these machines provided the planet with recordings of major events or anything interesting that was happening. We simply spread news by word of mouth, if I remember right, before we depended on the Scouters to gets new information out. Nappa laughs. 

“So, you want some news, do yah?” He notes to himself, and I hear the very faint buzzing of an energy attack being charged. Before I can tell him not to waste energy destroying the news machines, he fires. “Now you are the news!” He calls, as the ball of ki hits one of the center machines. It explodes, causing the few closest to it to explode in a chain reaction. Gohan and Krillan seem shaken as the debris rains down and the few remaining machines retreat. “Good! No more distractions!” Nappa exclaims, “Now what do you say we get this fight started?” The Saibaman nods, and Tien seems ready, as well. The Saibaman and Tien size each other up for a few moments, then the Saibaman grits his teeth and runs forward, slashing at Tien, who seems to use some type of unknown energy move to shove the Saibaman back with two fingers, sprinting after his target with a shout. The Saibaman lands on its feet, leaping out the next instant to open its head and spewing forth the acidic substance it holds in its empty skull. The splash of the liquid reaches to the other Earthlings, who dodge, Piccolo grabbing Gohan to ensure the kid was out of the way. Good. I’d hate to see him get melted cus he couldn’t react fast enough. Although, with his power level, it shouldn’t have been a second thought. 

Gohan was proving an interesting study. He seems completely defenseless in battle, but Krillan confirmed that Gohan had trained with Piccolo. 

So my guess is this is his first-ever combat experience. The unlucky kid happened to be up against Saibamen and Saiyans. His only hope is potentially in his father’s appearance. And that was an unknown. 

“Wow. Thanks.” Gohan mumbles, gazing in terror at the canyon carved by the acid. Tien lands at the Saibaman’s back, leaping toward it with another shout. The Saibaman whirls, and leaps up, but Tien’s leap carries him with the Saibaman, and Tien lands a solid blow to his opponent’s abdomen. The Saibaman is winded, falling to the ground with a pained expression on its face. 

“What?! Impossible!” Nappa exclaims.” 

“Calm down.” I retort. “We noticed the original three had been training. The newcomers seem to have prepared for our arrival as well. Besides, the Saibaman hasn’t lost yet.” Even as I say that, however, the Saibaman crumples to the ground, twitching and unable to get up. “...never mind.” I growl, embarrassed at being proven wrong so quickly. Krillan and the mime cheer their friend’s victory as Tien lands. 

“Go, Tien! Great move!” Krillan congratulates. 

“Alright!” Gohan adds, smiling happily. I notice the Saibaman seeming to recover a little, but hold back that information. 

“You’re the best, Tien!” The mime chimes in. 

“Thanks.” Tien replies, sounding just barely winded from his fight. Perhaps he was right; maybe his power level was such that the Saibaman was a good warm up. Vegeta gets his ‘I’m disappointed and annoyed’ face, glaring at the Saibaman who was still on the ground. 

“Looks like you got hold of a weak batch, Nappa.” He growls. I step forward, knowing what was about to happen. 

“Hold on. I just said the Earthlings more than likely trained to prepare for our arrival. It’s possible he just got a lucky shot in.” 

“Yeah!” Nappa agrees shakily, stunned the Saibaman was defeated and also aware of the cost of its defeat. “These Saiabaman are all good! These’re the same ones that survived that crazy battle on Traddick.” I flinch. I have scars from that insane battle. We’d been ambushed, barely getting the Saibaman out in time to get their help. If we hadn’t, it could’ve spelled disaster for us. I could have lost Vegeta… “He should’ve won!” Nappa continues, cutting off that train of thought, thankfully. It wasn’t a pleasant trip. “His power level’s 1200!” The Saibaman in question was on its hands and knees, still utterly winded after Tien’s punch. “All of these Saibaman have the same fighting power as…” He realizes who he’s talking about and why it wasn’t a good defense and stops short of naming him. 

“As who?” Vegeta presses, smirking. He knew who Nappa was about to name. 

“As...Radditz.” Nappa continues, swallowing. Vegeta’s smirk increases. 

“Now do you see my point?” Vegeta asks. 

“Well…” 

“Don’t stress yourself.” I interject, smirking. Sometimes, Nappa was a little slow. It was kinda fun to tease him. 

“Yes. Leave the thinking to me and Sarada from now on.” Vegeta adds. I sigh. Now that we addressed the issue of the Saibaman’s power level, it was time to deal with the Saibaman’s failure. 

Tien walks toward his companions and the Saibaman begins to get back on this feet. “Tien, that one’s getting back up!” The mime warns, fear in his eyes. Tien turns to look as Vegeta raises two fingers. 

It was over in an instant. One second, the Saibaman was there, the next Vegeta extends energy-riddled fingers and the Saibaman explodes. 

Everyone but me is stunned. The earthlings look on in terror at the remains of the poor Saibaman. I sigh softly, but don’t let myself react too much. 

Nappa, however, does not. “Vegeta, why?!” He exclaims. 

“He wasn’t of any use to us anymore.” Vegeta replies apathetically. 

“I know, but...he was...alive!” Nappa insists. As part of the act, I scoff. 

“Don’t tell me you’ve gotten soft, Nappa.” He flinches a little, knowing what being soft would mean. I agreed with Nappa, but had to play the part of the tough Saiyan Princess. 

“N-no, Sarada. Of course not. I just...I don’t understand.” Nappa presses. 

“It would have been pointless to let him continue, Nappa.” Vegeta cuts in, “He was losing, which leads me to believe he wasn’t trying his hardest.” He glares at the other quacking Saibaman who now understood the stakes. Death to the Earthlings or death to Vegeta. “I specifically told him not to hold anything back.” 

“Whoa. Talk about ruthless.” Krillan mumbles, eyes still wide in surprise. I then notice Piccolo observing with a grim expression. He knew the stakes if they lose. 

What he didn’t know was that I would try to spare him and perhaps Gohan, as well, if things play out right. And then try to get Piccolo to tell us everything he knows about the Dragonballs. 

Now to see if I can pull this off. “So, who’s going next?” Vegeta asks. The Saibamen now seem a little reluctant to join in, having witnessed Vegeta’s execution. Nappa grits his teeth, knowing what might happen if none of them volunteer; Vegeta could decide to exterminate all of them. 

“Alright, if no one steps up, we’ll have a free-for-all!” Nappa growls. Piccolo narrows his eyes. 

“That’s fine by me. Let’s do it!” Krillan, surprisingly, steps forward, suddenly looking brave. 

“No. I’ll go next.” He announces. Yamcha, too, steps forward, shocking everyone. 

“Hold on, Krillan.”

“What’s up?” Krillan asks, a little unnecessarily. It should have been obvious. 

“Let me go, would yah? I’m really anxious to show these guys what we’re really all about down here on this planet.” I grin. He was a brave one, no doubt. I almost want to know just how long he’d last against the Saibamen. 

Krillan frowns. “That’s great, but I’ve got this one, okay?” Yamcha shakes his head. 

“You already been wished back with the Dragonballs once.” I raise a brow. There was a limit to the times you bring someone back from the dead? How interesting. “I haven’t.” Yamcha continues, “So if anything happens, at least we know that I can be revived.” I found that a solid plan. Too bad they’d likely all die here. To Saibamen, or us Saiyans. “Sit this one out, Krillan. You’ll get your chance, don’t you worry about that.” Krillan sees his friend’s bravery and acquiesces. 

“Okay...he’s all yours.” Krillan replies. Nappa laughs. 

“How touching. I’m all warm and tingly. Heh.” He turns to a random Saibaman. “Now go kill him!” The 180-degree turn in what Nappa said makes me laugh. Coincidentally, it made it seem like I was mocking Yamcha, so it worked out. 

Yamcha readied himself. “Alright then! C’mon! Let’s get this over with.” Vegeta chuckles.

“This one seems eager.” He notes. I nod. However, something told me this wouldn’t end well for the Earthling. 

“Yeah, right. Eager to die, that is.” Nappa replies as the Saibaman approaches its opponent. Yamcha runs into action, the pair evenly matched as the fight reaches a new speed, almost invisible to the untrained eye. 

It appears that Gohan doesn’t have trained eyes, looking around like he can’t see what’s happening. 

“They vanished!” Gohan exclaims in shock. I smirk. The poor boy. 

I could have seen what was happening before I could throw a punch. Father made sure to let Vegeta and I watch fights to get used to seeing intense, fast-paced action. It was almost shameful Gohan hadn’t been taught how to follow fights like this by now. 

“Nonsense!” Piccolo retorts, as if a little embarrassed by his student’s lack of progress. “They’re just moving very fast! Try to feel out their energies!” He snaps. It was sweet he was turning this into a solid teaching moment, but it also revealed a weakness in Gohan. Although, it seemed that hole in the boy’s training was about to be filled. 

Gohan frowns. “Feel their energies?” I also frown. Was that actually possible? Piccolo nods. 

“All of us are watching them right now except you, Gohan.” Piccolo explains, and sure enough, Krillan, the mime, the Tien were all watching alongside Vegeta, Nappa, and I. 

“What?! You can see them?!” Gohan asks incredulously. He then narrows his eyes in concentration. “...M’kay…” He mumbles, trying to watch the fight, too. It was frankly kind of adorable, the warm feeling almost entirely foreign to me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t outwardly express it.

“Don’t focus on a specific point.” Piccolo instructs. “Let your eyes take in your entire surroundings.” I wonder if he’s teaching Gohan to sense energies and try it out for myself, letting my eyes take in everything they could. “Remember, you’re not trying to see their bodies, but the light the energies of their bodies gives off.” Piccolo continues, and I’d almost swear he was speaking directly to me. It felt...weird, so I stop and watch the fight as I had done before, heart feeling oddly unsettled. Luckily, neither of my companions had noticed, and it doesn’t seem anyone else had, either, so I pretend I’d never stopped watching normally. 

“Stupid Namekian.” I grumble, so softly I almost couldn’t hear myself. He’d unsettled me, and I couldn’t afford to let it happen again. 

“I can hear them, Piccolo!” Gohan says after a few moments. I continue watching the fight. It was going rather slowly, all things considered. They were pretty evenly matched, turns out, so the fight was dragging on. 

“Good. Now stay relaxed. Continue to look. Don’t blink your eyes.” Piccolo tells Gohan. Despite myself, I stow those instructions away to try again when the Namekian wasn’t there to unsettle me. The ability to sense energies was most unusual and I wanted to try to learn how it. 

Gohan continues to follow his teacher’s instructions, moments later gasping in shock. Piccolo seems happy. “Now you see.” He notes. I smile a little, feeling happy Gohan was finally catching up. Eventually, the Saibaman leapt up, so did Yamcha, but Yamcha seemed to have a plan, zipping around the Saibaman so he was above it, then he unleashed a kind of energy attack with a shout, slamming the Saibaman into the ground with enough force to make a crater. To be honest, I was surprised. I was so certain he wouldn’t last against the Saibaman. Huh. The earthlings were all cheering as Yamcha descended. 

“Alright!” Krillan exclaims. 

“Wow! Great!” Gohan adds. Suddenly, I noticed the Saibaman twitching as if to get up. It’s then I remember the Saibaman can self-destruct. Uh-oh. 

“That’s two!” Nappa cries, absolutely stunned. Yamcha lands, looking at his handiwork for a moment then he turns to us. 

“Wow. That was easy. Guess we’re in a different league altogether than your little green goon squad.” I narrow my eyes. I definitely didn’t like Yamcha. 

“You cocky- -” Nappa begins, fist clenched. 

“Nappa!” Vegeta interjects. “Relax.” He orders. 

“Now then, what d’you say I take on the other four by myself?” As Yamcha spoke, the Saibaman was starting to actually move to stand. I knew then it was over for the cocky Earthling. The Saibaman would use self-destruct and Yamcha would be dead. 

“Yamcha, are you nuts?!” Krillan exclaims. I grin. 

“By all means, if you think you can, earthling.” I laugh. It was easy to mock someone I don’t like. 

“Indeed, Sarada.” Vegeta agrees, laughing as well. “That, I’d like to see.” His grin turns sinister. “Too bad I won’t get the chance.” 

“Oh, yeah? Bring ‘em on!” Yamcha shoots back. I force myself to watch as the Saibaman leaps up, almost too quick for anyone to see, latching on to Yamcha tightly. 

Vegeta smirks, pleased the Saibaman was giving everything he could. Piccolo notices Vegeta’s smirk and his eyes go wide.

“It’s over.” He mumbles. 

“Oh no!” Gohan cries. Piccolo was right; it was over. Yamcha could struggle all he wanted, but nothing could spare him. Seconds later, the Saibaman detonated. The Earthlings were stunned, Vegeta was still smirking. 

“Well. I guess it’s a draw.” He muses, as if discussing a turn in the weather. 

“Too bad.” I reply, sounding mocking but being surprisingly sad about the death. It was a horrible way to go; basically ambushed with no way to defend yourself. “I would have liked to see him try all the Saibamen.” 

“Kamikaze; no way to defend.” Piccolo says, staring at the crater holding the body of his ally, laying limp and lifeless. Gohan seems pale, eyes wide in terror. 

Was this his first glimpse of death? 

“Is he..?” Krillan sprints over in the vain attempt to see if his friend was somehow alive. Krillan put his ear on Yamcha’s back to try and hear a heartbeat. 

As reality sinks in, Krillan trembles. “No...he’s dead…” Krillan almost seems mad. I suppose I’d be mad, too, far beyond mad, if anyone killed Vegeta. I honestly don’t want to know what would happen if anyone killed Vegeta. 

Shaking myself, I watch as Krillan’s fists clench and he slowly stands. Vegeta laughs beside me, but I can’t bring myself to even try to force a laugh. 

“N-now, why’d yah go and have to be the hero, you big stupid jerk?” Krillan asks with a shaky voice. “It was my turn to fight! It should have been me in there!” The pang of survivor’s guilt was almost a physical blow to my chest. It was such a raw, emotional confession, and done in front of his enemies, that I couldn’t help the prickle of tears. I blink them back before anyone can see, unknowing of Namekian eyes briefly registering shock in my direction before returning to his grieving companion. 

I’m reminded, watching Krillan on the verge of a breakdown, that they have matching outfits. 

Likely, that means they fought together, training together and forming a friendship. 

A friendship cut off too soon. The weight sinks onto my shoulders and I remain quiet. Krillan’s grief morphs into almost anger then. “You hear that, Yamcha?! You can’t die! It should’ve been me! It should’ve been me!” I sigh. 

“Oh, shut up!” Nappa roars suddenly, tired of Krillan’s display. “It doesn’t make any difference how goes down first!” He growls. “Don’t you get it?! You’re all gonna die in the end!” 

“Calm down, Nappa.” Vegeta orders. “Give them a moment to clear this trash off the battlefield.” I roll my eyes. Vegeta was always insensitive. That’s why I don’t talk to him about anything emotional or vulnerable. 

He would think I’m weak, and I can’t afford to be seen as weak. So I remain quiet when I want to speak up. Krillan stands up, clearly enraged by Vegeta’s callous statement. 

“How dare you!” Krillan growls. He turns to his allies. “You guys stay outta this!” He snaps. “This is between me and them now!” He looks at his dead friend. “Okay...this one’s for you, buddy. I won’t let you down again.” 

“You’re right. You won’t live long enough to let anyone down again.” I taunt. If he was angered, he might be able to unleash a better attack and maybe he could win. Who knows? 

“Shut up!” Krillan barks. “Now c’mon! I’m ready!” I cross my arms. If he wanted to throw his life away trying to deal with four Saibamen all at once, by all means, I wouldn’t stop him. He was far too blinded by grief and rage to listen to reason anyway. “I’ll take on all four of those goons at once!” Krillan challenges. I must admit, he had a lot of guts when he was this angered. “Just like Yamcha was gonna do.” 

“Careful.” I call before I can stop myself. “Yamcha was cocky, and look where that got him.” I make it sound like a taunt, but I meant the warning. He didn’t have to needlessly die, especially not like this.

However, Krillan’s hands go up, energy glowing off his skin as he powers up for his fight. “You need to shut up! Send out the goon squad already!” Krillan roars at me. I blink. He really wanted to take them all on…

The poor fool would never make it out alive. He was doomed. 


	5. Power of Nappa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krillan launches a daring assault against the Saibamen, surprising everyone with the result. However, that brief moment of triumph is overwhelmed by the dark moments that unfold during the fight against Nappa, who seems to weather any attack.

We stood there as Krillan continued to gather his energy. 

I find myself feeling bad for Krillan and almost hoping he’d win somehow. However, I knew it was highly unlikely. Nappa chuckles and Vegeta turns, smiling, to the Saibaman. 

“Attack.” Was the simple order. Just as the Saibaman was obeying, Krillan unleashes his attack, the frankly kinda impressive amount of ki hurdling toward us. I blink. Whoa...he desperately wanted us dead. Vegeta and Nappa are surprised as well, staring at the blast with wide eyes, Vegeta’s arms falling to his sides. 

“What the--” Nappa cries, the blast coming ever closer in the vital few seconds before contact. For some reason, my legs (and those of my companions) didn’t want to move. 

“Let’s go Chiaotzu!” Tien exclaims. Is that the mime’s name? Apparently so, as the pair leaps out of the way. Piccolo grits his teeth, positioned in front of Gohan. 

“I’m not sure what he’s planning to do, but I’m sure of this much; we don’t want to be here when that blast hits!” Piccolo growls as he and Gohan leap aside. I brace to feel the blast, but it never hits. 

Krillan somehow directs the blast upwards. I frown. Why would he make the blast miss us? I realize a second too late. 

He was going to split the blast into different attacks to make sure he hit as many targets as he could. The control he had of his attack, despite his rage and grief, was impressive, I can admit. I watch as the different branches in the attack land, mostly on the Saibamen, striking each one, from what I could see. The final one, however, was coming down right over our heads. I find myself bracing against the blast, worried for a second it might do damage, but then it hits and I realize it wasn’t powerful enough. Krillan may have killed our henchmen, but he hadn’t hurt us. The dust-cloud envelopes us after the strike hit, and I have to try not to breathe in that much of it. 

Everyone is duly impressed by what Krillan accomplished, and I wonder how long Vegeta and Nappa intend to stay silent and hidden in the dust. “That was for you, Yamcha.” He says, walking back to rejoin his allies. I hear a Saiabaman leap out and Gohan cry out in fright, and I frown. Seems like Krillan missed a Saiabaman. Huh. 

Suddenly I hear a stop to the sound of motion and the Saiabaman now sounds terrified. Gohan also seems a little scared still and then I hear Piccolo’s voice. 

“Enough.” Is all he says, then it sounds like Piccolo grunting, a punch landing, then it seems Piccolo hurls the Saibaman into the air and there’s an energy blast. I smirk. 

It seems these Earthlings and the Namekian are tougher than we gave them credit for. 

Unfortunately, they were now against us. 

“Thanks for saving me, Piccolo.” Gohan says, and I can hear the relief in his voice. 

“Stay focused, Gohan. Don’t make yourself an easy target.” Piccolo replies tersely. “You’re lucky I was there this time, but next time you better be prepared to save yourself.” I chuckle a little quietly. It seems Piccolo was a bit of a stern teacher, but it was also obvious he was fond of Gohan. 

Vegeta, finally through with hiding in the smoke and dust, begins to laugh. “Well, so much for our little game, eh, Sarada?” 

“Oh well. Can’t have everything in life, I suppose.” I reply, sounding mocking and bored, but really I was impressed they were stronger than the Saibamen. 

“Yes, but it was fun while it lasted.” Vegeta continues. I nod as the last bits of the dust and smoke dissipate. 

“Yes, it was.” I conclude as the Earthlings and Piccolo seem startled by the fact that we were still around. The ‘game’ wasn’t fun, really, just interesting, but I wasn’t going to voice that opinion. We stride fully out of the cloud and smirk confidently. 

“Surprise, surprise.” Vegeta taunts. “This is our favorite part, you know; you should see the looks on your faces!” I don’t say anything, keeping the smirking mask up for now as Nappa chuckles. 

“They look like they’ve seen a ghost.” The looks on our opponents’ faces remind me of all the other planets I’ve visited. All the innocent aliens I’ve slaughtered. 

And I hate it. 

“What do you guys say we get the real fight started?” Nappa continues hands on his hips. “Any volunteers?” Unsurprisingly, no one was very eager to step forward. Krillan still looks the most stunned. 

“I put everything I had into that shot.” He stammers in shock. Vegeta and Nappa laugh again, but I can’t bring myself to join in, preferring to simply stand behind them, trying to keep up my villain appearance. “What’re we supposed to do now?” Krillan moans, shaking where he stood. Vegeta and Nappa walk over, so I join them, still staying in the background. 

“Hey, Sarada, Vegeta, why don’t I handle this?” Nappa asks. “There’s no sense in all of us getting dirty.” I am almost relieved I won’t have to kill these people who were fighting for their planet, nodding and sighing as if bored. 

“You know what? Sure. Go ahead, Nappa.” I say, trying not to show my relief. I had some sway over Nappa, and if I make a good enough excuse, I can maybe get Nappa to spare Piccolo (who was a Namekian and would likely know what we want to know about the Dragonablls) and Gohan (seeing as he was just a kid and if we use Gohan as a hostage, Piccolo might just do what we say). With that plan in mind, I settle in to wait to implement my plan. 

“As you wish.” Vegeta agrees. I almost cheer. Now all I had to do was wait for the right moments to interject and get Piccolo to tell us about the- -hang on. If I tell Nappa now, we can keep Nappa in check during the fight. Just as I open my mouth, however, Vegeta begins to speak again. “But, Nappa, don’t kill the Namekian just yet.” He says. It was like he read my mind. I stood there in surprise. How did he have the same idea I did? “Remember, he’s the one who will tell us where the Dragonballs are.” That adds to my surprise. 

“You know, I was about to say the same thing.” I muse, chuckling. “Namekians are somehow connected to these Dragonballs, it seems.” Nappa and Vegeta nod. 

“Yeah, got it.” I move subtly closer to Vegeta to tell him my idea about using Gohan as an additional incentive for Piccolo as Nappa walks over, striding in front of all of the Earthlings, smirking confidently. This would take a little delicate handling, but if I played it right, I may just be able to keep those two alive. It was all I could manage, though. I couldn’t save the others. “So, I can’t kill the Namek. Fine.” He says, eyeing his opponents and instilling fear in them before they even got to fighting. He seems to land on Krillan. “Then...you!” He roars, leaping toward Krillan at high speeds. Surprisingly, Piccolo gets between them. 

“No! Here!” Piccolo growls, summoning the energy to try to slam Nappa backward. However, Nappa somehow manages to dodge the attack, which decimates the small outcropping of rock behind Nappa. Piccolo is shocked by the dodge, allowing Nappa to get behind him. To further disorient Piccolo, he zips to different angles around Piccolo, who appeared increasingly overwhelmed. Nappa then slams his leg into Piccolo’s chest, sending the Namekian several feet backward with a loud grunt of pain. 

“Oh no! Piccolo!” Gohan cries, worried as Piccolo slams through another outcropping. Nappa now has no opposition, facing the others with a grin. 

“You’re a Saiyan! You should be enjoying this, kid!” Nappa chuckles, looking directly at a trembling Gohan. Before Nappa can do anything to anyone else, Piccolo gets back on his feet from the rubble of the outcropping he hit.

Tien the mime, Chiaotzu, are stunned at Piccolo’s resilience. I have to admit I’m impressed, as well. I scoot a little closer to Vegeta. I had to talk to him soon, before everyone but Piccolo was dead. “You okay, Piccolo?” Tien asks. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Piccolo replies left hand on his right arm. “Just a broken rib or two.” I smile. Piccolo was rather impressive to withstand that kick and only have a few broken ribs. Nappa then growls a bit then gathers up energy for another attack. Nappa gathers so much energy, the earth starts shaking, rocks loosened and floating upwards. 

“I...I’ve never felt a power like this before!” Tien looks the most worried I’ve seen him yet, and Nappa wasn’t done gathering energy. Piccolo narrows his eyes, ready for anything. Cracks appear in the earth, widening quickly. One starts near Tien. 

“Hey, Tien! Look out!” Chiaotzu exclaims, and Tien barely manages to avoid being a victim of the widening canyon. “It feels like the whole planet is being shaken apart!” These poor Earthlings, despite being a bit more powerful than I thought they’d be, were no match for even Nappa, arguably the weakest among us Saiyans. 

“Oh man! This is bad!” Krillan adds, arms up to defend against the flying debris. 

Nappa watches all of this with an almost sadistic grin on his face. He starts to laugh. 

Gohan is shaken by the earthquake, wobbling as he tries to get closer to Piccolo. When he arrives, his feet slip from beneath him and he face-plants into the ground. “Get up!” Piccolo snaps. “Stand form, Gohan!” He orders. Gohan struggles, unable to stand for long. “I said stand firm, now do it!” Piccolo roars at Gohan, and I swear I see worry in his eyes. “Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by your opponent!” Gohan tries to stand again, this time appearing a bit steadier. Nappa continues to laugh as he gathers energy, lightning crackling from his body, a wind starting to kick up as well, blowing the earthlings and Piccolo back little by little. 

I am ready to remind Nappa not to kill Piccolo when he finishes powering up. 

Chiaotzu tries to do something, I’m not sure what, then Nappa puts a stop to it with an energy blast, and Chiaotzu was slammed against an outcropping. I wince a little. That looked like it hurt. 

“Watch it! He’s almost ready to attack!” Piccolo warns. Nappa looks around at his opponents, the energy he’d gathered crackling around him. 

“Now, which one of you wants to die first?” He asks, eying each of the group. Obviously, no one steps forward. “Well, if there’s not a volunteer, I’ll choose!” An instant later, Nappa makes his choice; Tien. 

He sprints forward and launches into combat forcefully, Tien looking overwhelmed instantly. From the first strike, Tien’s arm crackles with Nappa’s energy and he groans in pain. Tien is so distracted by the pain in his arm, he forgets to watch Nappa, who is above him, ready to strike again. 

“Tien, watch out! Above you!” Piccolo warns, but it’s too late. Nappa slashes down with his arm and- -Tien cries out in agony as half of his forearm is sliced off, leaving a bloody stub behind. He continues to cry out and I have to clench my first to not reveal my intent to, well, I don’t know, but I did know that Nappa was getting a bit out of control. I then make up my mind. I move toward Vegeta, uncaring who saw at this point. 

“He’s been disarmed.” Vegeta muses, chuckling. I nod and hum a little. 

“Yes, now, Vegeta, about finding the Dragonballs.” I begin. He nods a little in acknowledgment, eyes not leaving the battle as Chiaotzu exclaims in worry. “I have an idea; it appears that the boy and the Namek are close.” I murmur. This was risky. I had to phrase it right. 

“Yes, I noticed the similar clothes and protective nature of those two.” Vegeta concurs. “What about it?”

“Well, if we want the Namekian to tell us about the Dragonballs, it may be a good idea to use the boy as a hostage to make sure the Namek tells us everything.” I was careful not to use their names, as that would indicate attachment to them which was not a good idea at all. Vegeta hums, eyes narrowing in thought for a moment. 

Back in the fight, Tien finally stops screaming and leaps up just as Nappa prepares to strike again, preparing his own energy attack with his remaining hand. Unfortunately, Nappa kicks Tien back into the ground before he can unleash that attack. “You may be on to something there, Sarada. Tell Nappa once he’s finished with the three-eyed one.” I nod, resuming my observation as Gohan takes in what just happened to his friend. 

“No, no, no! Mr. Tien!” He cries. I feel bad the kid had to bear witness to this, but at the same time, he needed to learn somehow. Tien struggles to get back up. Nappa watches from above. 

“Why that stubborn little- -he just refuses to die!” Nappa exclaims. 

“We need to get his tail somehow!” Piccolo growls to himself and Gohan. I blink, confused as to how they knew that before I remembered that, during the recording of Radditz’s fight here, Kakarot and Goku had known about the tail weakness of the Saiyans, likely because Kakarot used to have a tail. I also remember Radditz mentioning that Kakarot didn’t have a tail, calling him a disgrace as a result, ignoring the fact that Saiyans can be strong without tails if they continue intensive training. 

Too bad for these Earthlings...we’d gotten past that weakness. I still remember the brutal yanks and training I had to go through to get past the weakness, but it was worth it. 

“No...this ends here!” Krillan suddenly exclaims, sprinting toward Nappa and Tien. 

“No, Krillan! It’s too late to save him!” Piccolo protests. I disagree. If someone distracts Nappa and the others evacuate Tien, and get him some medical attention, it may save his life. Of course, Vegeta likely wouldn’t allow them to get away, but you never know. 

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Nappa roars, sending a blast of energy down and creating a crater centimeters from where Krillan was standing. Krillan was blasted backward and Nappa laughs at the destruction he’d wrought. 

“Incredible! The-there’s no bottom to this thing!” Piccolo is stunned, and impressed, by the trench Nappa had just carved. Nappa laughs. 

“That’s just a pockmark you Namek lizard!” He growls. “Wait till I really get started.” I knew he was bluffing. He was pretty much all warmed up, using a good amount of his power in each attack. However, I keep that to myself. Krillan looks around, trying to spot something. 

“Chiaotzu!” He cries, and I find myself glancing around to see if I could find the little mime. I see the little black cap ducking back around an outcropping. I then realize that Chiaotzu was going to leap from the outcropping to launch an attack against Nappa. However, Nappa could almost certainly withstand whatever the Earthling could do, so I wasn’t terribly worried about the ambush. “Chiaotzu!” Krillan calls again. “He’s gone!” Tien raises his head to look for his friend. “He must have been hit by the blast.” I don’t reveal the truth. For some reason, I didn’t really want to. It was like another mask I was wearing, one that didn’t care if Nappa lived or died, but at the same time, I did. I guess I just want to see if Nappa can hold up to whatever Chiaotzu wants to do. 

“No!” Tien moans as he scans the area. Nappa laughs. 

“Guess my aim was a little off.” Nappa laughs as he descends a little. 

“Chiaotzu!” Tien calls out, desperate to find his friend. He manages to stand, glaring at Nappa as he wobbled subtly. 

“Aww, what’s wrong, three-eyes?” Nappa asks cruelly, mocking Tien. 

“Nappa, watch it! You’re being careless!” Vegeta warns. It seems Chiaotzu was about to make a move, appearing behind Nappa on the outcropping and leaping out the next second. He latches onto Nappa’s back, clinging desperately to it. What was he trying to do?

“Chiaotzu!” Tien exclaims, happy to see his friend wasn’t dead, but there’s also something worried in his voice like Tien knew- -wait...was Chiaotzu attempting to do the same thing the Saibaman that faced Yamcha had? Commit suicide by blowing himself up? 

...Wow. That took a lot of bravery.

Nappa can’t seem to reach the tiny little mime, growing frustrating the longer he failed to grab Chiaotzu. “Why you little- -c’mere you little dwarf!” He growls. However, the mime was steadfast, continuing to cling to Nappa’s back. Suddenly Chiaotzu started glowing with white energy. I blink. It seems my theory was correct, and the mime was about to detonate himself to try and stop Nappa. 

Finally fed up trying to grab Chiaotzu, Nappa flies toward an outcropping, slamming the poor earthling into it with massive force. To Chiaotzu’s credit, he takes the hit like a true warrior, continuing to cling to Nappa’s back. Tien winces at his friend’s predicament. 

“Chiaotzu! Get away from there!” He exclaims. I see his frantic worry for his friend in his eyes. I felt horrible as Nappa continues to slam Chiaotzu into various outcroppings. 

“I can’t look!” Gohan cries, looking away with tears in his eyes. I don’t blame him. It was a cruel thing of Nappa to do, but I can respect Chiaotzu’s bravery. After several slams, however, I can’t bare to look myself. Then…

“Watch, Gohan!” My eyes snap to Piccolo, who’d given that order. Once again, though he used Gohan’s name, it was also as if he were speaking to me. Directly to me. Gohan is stunned by his instructor’s words. “I said watch!” Piccolo reiterates. “Don’t turn away! Honor his bravery.” Sighing, I turn back to watch as poor Chiaotzu takes more slams into earth and rock. That damn Namekian! How could he make me think he was talking to me so easily?!

Gohan does the same, looking ready to cry still. 

“You’re asking for it!” Nappa roars suddenly, and I spot some spiked outcroppings not far away. My eyes go wide. Nappa was going to skewer Chiaotzu! 

“Chiaotzu, get off!” Tien cries desperately. “That’s enough!” He then gasps like he heard or saw something. Did he just realize where Nappa was taking his friend? Or was it something else? “What? What’re you talking about?” He then asks, and I realize there may be some way that Chiaotzu is communicating with Tien without speaking directly. “Chiaotzu! You’re not going anywhere! Just stop it!” I am suddenly blinking back tears. I find myself thinking of what would happen if Vegeta were in a perilous situation and we were forced to say goodbye. I’d imagine Tien feels similar now. I have to fight the tears off. “No, don’t! Chiaotzu, please! This isn’t the answer!” As Nappa nears the spiked rocks, Tien stands straighter, a desperation to convince his friend to stop now open for all to see. “No, stop it! Get off!” He cries, but Chiaotzu doesn’t, the white energy becoming blue and growing brighter. He was about to blow. The blue energy envelops Nappa as well and Nappa tries to go faster to prevent the explosion.”Chiaotzu, no!” Tien exclaims, reaching out as if to grab his friend. However, Chiaotzu detonates moments later, and everyone is stunned. None more than Tien, though, who trembles in grief for his lost friend. 

He then releases his grief in a scream. 

“What an extraordinary feat!” Piccolo exclaims, trying to make something positive out of the tragedy. “You see, Gohan? Size alone is not enough! You have to have heart, and cunning, too!” I sigh. I knew Nappa was alive in the cloud of smoke above us. 

“You may wish to hold off that speech till the opponent is actually defeated.” I call, arms crossed. Everyone looks up, and I easily spot Nappa, who laughs to confirm that he was still alive. Everyone gasps, having been certain that he had been taken out in Chiaotzu’s blast. 

“Now you see him, now you don’t.” Nappa notes. I roll my eyes. 

“Nappa, he almost had you! You barely managed a defense!” Vegeta reprimands. 

“What? It can’t be!” Krillan protests. “Not even a scrape! So-s-so that means...Chiaotzu sacrificed himself for nothing!” 

Tien grits his teeth, raising a fist in fury toward Nappa. “Chiaotzu! He’s gone! He’s already been wished back to life once before!” I frown. There it was again; that reference to a limitation on the times someone can be revived. Interesting. So it is true; we can’t revive someone more than once. “Now not even the Dragonballs can bring him back! You- -you’ll pay for what you’ve done!” He roars. “D’you hear me?! You’ll pay!” Nappa merely laughs. 

“Fool! Go ahead! Make your threats! It doesn’t matter how angry you get! You still don’t have a chance at beating us!” Nappa replies. “And the funny thing is; you never did!” He laughs at Tien’s threats, but something tells me we shouldn’t let our guard down just yet. Something told me these earthlings had something up their sleeve. 

What that was, though, I had no idea. 


	6. Sacrifice

**Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I sometimes forget how long it's been since I last updated. **

**I’m gonna try to get a new chapter out at a more frequent pace, but we’ll see how it goes.**

**God Bless and Good Day!**

**~The Lupine Sojourner**

Tien trembles and grits his teeth in rage as Nappa comes closer to the ground. “You...monster!” He growls. 

Nappa merely laughs.  “Guess your little friend couldn’t save you, 3-eyes!” 

Krillan looks ready to drop dead from fright. “Aww man, this is crazy! What do we do, Piccolo!” He asks. “He’s just too strong! There’s no way we can beat this guy!”

Piccolo’s eyes narrow in determination. “Stand your ground, Krillan. We’re here for a reason.” He replies. I almost forgot they were stalling for time, waiting for Goku- -or Kakarot- -to show up. 

Tien falls to his knees in grief, hand braced against the ground. “Chiaotzu!” He groans, sweat dripping to the ground. 

Nappa just keeps laughing.  “Miss him already, huh?” He calls condescendingly. “Well don’t worry! You’ll be seeing him soon!” Tien gets a look in his eyes and I know he’ll give Nappa as much of a fight as he can muster with what little energy he had left. 

“Kay, that’s it!” Tien roars, fist clenching and shattering a small rock he’d picked up. “This one’s for you, Chiaotzu!” He shouts, leaping at Nappa and trying to attack him. However, without his arm, he’s no match whatsoever, Nappa easily dodging or blocking any attack Tien dealt. 

“Not bad.” Piccolo muses, watching the fight. 

“Just look at him go!” Krillan adds, impressed. I roll my eyes. 

“He’ll be dead in minutes.” I reply, watching at Tien’s exhaustion began to subtly catch up to him. 

“If that, sister. That weakling as already tiring.” Vegeta notes, arms crossed and watching impassively. 

Then, as if to directly prove our point, Tien punches, Nappa dodges, and debris goes flying as an outcropping is shattered like a glass statue. Just as Tien was about to launch another attack, Nappa knees him in the stomach, winding Tien and sending him flying into the air. I’m rather impressed that Tien manages to launch back into his frenzied attacks as soon as he lands. Nappa just goes back to blocking and dodging, laughing cruelly as he does. The intensity kicks up wind, which sends the smaller pieces of rock flying around. 

Frankly, the wind was refreshing. This planet's sun was making the armor a bit stuffy and warm. 

Tien reaches his limit in moments, panting heavily and pausing his assault. Nappa chuckles, not even a little winded. “So, did you wear yourself out yet? Or do you want to try more before I stomp yah?” He mocks, smirking wickedly. Tien somehow manages to summon a small reserve of energy, attempting a few more attacks, then Nappa launches a few concise attacks of his own. 

A punch to the gut, the cheek, then the back, sending Tien crumpling to the ground. I blink in shock as Tien sits up, groaning in pain.

“Amazing!” Krillan exclaims, “How can he get up after all of that?” He asks. 

I chuckle. “I must admit, this earthling has spirit.” I muse, unable to help myself. 

“Pah!” Vegeta spits, waving aside Tien’s accomplishments. “Spirit doesn’t mean a thing if he doesn’t have power behind it, Sarada, and the triclops is out of power and energy. It’s over.” I roll my eyes, not willing to concede just yet. 

“But still. You must admit he lasted longer than we thought.” Vegeta shrugs. 

“My point stands; it’s over.” I nod. He was right. There was nothing left in Tien. He was through. 

“Yeah, I know.” I grumble, then shut my mouth as Krillan gets into a stance. 

“That’s it! I’m going in!” 

“About time! What kind of allies allow one of their own to be torn apart like this?” I call mockingly. But I meant it. They could have helped at any point. Nothing was stopping them except fear. Piccolo glares at me for a second before stopping Krillan.

“He’s going to attack Tien and when he does, he’ll have an unguarded moment; that’s when we’ll strike.” He says, managing to lower his voice a little so it was tricky to hear, but I managed to listen in on it all. It wouldn’t make a difference, so I don’t bother saying anything. Krillan thinks it over, then subtly nods. Piccolo grits his teeth. “Good. Did you get that, Gohan?” He demands, looking down at his pupil. Gohan was shaking, but he manages a nod and an ‘uh-huh’. 

“That’s a good plan.” Vegeta calls, and the earthlings whirl to look at us as if they’d forgotten we could hear them. “Nappa’s too strong to fight head-on.” He adds, unconcerned about whether giving them advice would alter the outcome. I let him decide what to say or not to say. When Piccolo looks back at Vegeta, surprised my brother was giving them advice, Vegeta smirks. “Don’t take your eyes off them.” He cautions. “You’ll miss your opportunity.” Though he looks a bit unsettled, Piccolo smirks confidently. 

“Confident, huh?” He asks. “Well, you just wait till Goku makes it back. We’ll see if you’re still so cocky.” There it was again; the reference to this Goku returning. 

The fact that he wasn’t here yet suggests it wasn’t just distance keeping him from arriving. 

Kakarot had to return from death somehow. I was more convinced than ever that Goku was Kakarot, and that he would somehow make it to Earth and we’d be able to see how strong he is. 

“Oh?” Vegeta asks, raising a brow. “Interesting. Who’s Goku?” He asks. I frown, wondering whether or not to tell him my suspicions. “Is he really that strong?” 

Piccolo laughs.  “You’ll find out soon.” I decided I’d wait till the earthlings were distracted to tell Vegeta, so they wouldn’t be able to interrupt me. 

Luckily the distraction arrives as if on cue. Nappa was on the attack, slamming his fist yet again into Tien’s abused abdomen. I barely contain my wince. That had to hurt. Tien goes flying into an outcropping, then falls to the ground, groaning in agony. Krillan starts forward in worry. 

“C’mon! Let’s go, guys!” He exclaims. Piccolo once again stalls him. 

“Hold on Krillan! Just a few more seconds!” Piccolo snaps, returning his attention to the fight. He narrows his eyes, watching intently for their moment to strike. 

“What’s wrong?” Nappa taunts cruelly, walking over to his victim with an evil grin. “Oh wait, don’t tell me. I think I know what you need! A nice trip to the afterlife!” He continues, rising to deliver the final blow. “One way, of course. Ready?” He calls when he’s in position. Tien struggles to stand again. Nappa begins a dive and Piccolo starts. I grin. This was their moment. This was what they needed; Nappa was so focused on killing Tien he didn’t care what anyone else was doing. 

“Gohan, Krillan, c’mon! Let’s go!” Piccolo calls. Krillan instantly gets ready, but Gohan looks petrified with fear. With no time to lose, Piccolo and Krillan leap out, leaving Gohan behind. I suppose they’d line Nappa up and Gohan would be the final attack. 

Or Gohan didn’t factor in since he failed to move in time. Regardless, it works. Piccolo appears and claws at Nappa’s face, surprising Nappa and knocking him to the side, where Krillan appeared to knock Nappa down toward the ground. 

Toward Gohan. I know he won’t attack, however. He was still trembling, paralyzed with fear. “Gohan, it’s now or never!” Piccolo shouts. I sigh. Poor Gohan had never been in a situation like this. The poor boy couldn’t handle it despite his Saiyan blood. “Fire!” 

“I can’t!” Gohan calls back, looking ready to cry. He was sealing his friends’ doom if he doesn’t get it together and attack. It was the perfect moment to finish the battle, or at least launch an attack. 

“Gohan!” Piccolo roars, trying to get Gohan to act. 

“Now, Gohan!” Krillan cries as well. He still sits there, trembling, however. I sigh. They shouldn’t have trusted their entire strategy to a child. 

“I’m scared.” Gohan moans, watching Nappa fly toward him. Much as I want to comfort him, I can’t. 

Sure enough, Gohan hides behind an outcropping, practically crying in terror. “No! Gohan!” Piccolo roars. 

“Oh no!” Krillan adds, then the pair launch an attack of their own to try to make up for Gohan’s failure. However, without the element of surprise, Nappa easily dodges. “Great, he dodged it!” Krillan groans. “There goes our surprise.” I sigh. 

“That’s what they get, trusting an unexperienced child.” I mumble. Nappa zips up to face Piccolo and Krillan. 

“S-sorry, guys.” Gohan calls weakly, still trembling on the ground. “I just froze.” I grit my teeth to keep from talking. 

I remember when I first fought someone I didn’t know, killed someone. I didn’t have the luxury of freezing or being weak. I’d had to force myself through the fight, all the way to the bitter end. 

The instinct to comfort and protect Gohan increases when I hear Gohan start crying. This poor boy was in way over his head. He shouldn’t have been in this fight if this is how he handles it. 

“I’ll give you some credit for that one.” Nappa calls, distracting me from Gohan, thankfully. Any more of that, and I might have screwed myself over and gone over to him. “That was a good move. You two almost had me there for a second. Almost.” Nappa notes. 

“I can respect the move, as well, til the boy ruined the plan.” I note to Vegeta. He nods. 

“That boy is a disgrace to warriors.” He growls. I know better than to reply. 

“Too bad for you, that trick didn’t work.” Nappa continues. He then clenches his fist. “Now you’re gonna die!” The two ready themselves, each appearing a bit unsettled and afraid. 

Tien, still on the ground, appears ready to pass out or die. He moans something too low for me to hear and finally goes down, but I somehow don’t think he’s quite out for the count yet. 

Despite this, Nappa chuckles. “Your little band just keeps gettin’ smaller. Now it’s just the two of you.” He muses snidely. 

“He’s right you know.” Krillan replies. Piccolo growls in frustration, glancing at where I assume Gohan is still behind the outcropping. 

“Gohan…” He groans, probably a bit disappointed at Gohan’s lack of courage. There’s a part of me that wants to kick the boy into combat as I had been, but I also remember how traumatizing that was, and suddenly feel like running away with him. 

“Alright! What do you say we get down to business?” Nappa calls confidently. “Who’s next?” I then realize Nappa was getting too into the fight. Likely, he has forgotten Vegeta and I’s order not to kill Piccolo. 

“Nappa! We still need the Namek to tell us about the Dragonballs!” I call up to remind him. 

“Good call, Sarada. He was getting out of hand.” Vegeta replies. 

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot!” Nappa calls back. “Looks like you're up, little man!” He notes, looking at Krillan. Krillan says something back, wise enough to keep it low enough that at least those of us on the ground couldn’t hear. 

Piccolo replies and Krillan seems to agree with whatever Piccolo said, then Piccolo raises a fist. “Try a direct attack before he can power up again!” He calls. Krillan seems shocked, but then Piccolo strategies, again too low for us to hear, and the pair suddenly appear to be powering up themselves. 

Just when it looks like they were done, both Piccolo and Krillan suddenly had two copies, making three total of each fighter. I blink. “That’s a new one.” I mumble. 

Vegeta chuckles. 

“Amateurs. They can’t hope to beat him just by conjuring copies, Sarada.” Vegeta replies. I nod. 

“True. I was just saying it was a new tactic.” 

“Ready?!” The middle Piccolo calls, making it obvious that was the original. The other Piccolos and all three Krillans respond affirmatively, launching into an attack. True to prediction, it doesn’t last more than a minute or two, Krillan losing first, slamming into the ground, his clones rejoining his body instantly. As soon as Piccolo hits the ground and the clones join him, Gohan comes out of hiding, running to his teacher. 

“Piccolo!” He screams in worry. It seems Piccolo is still disappointed in Gohan, launching the child aside and standing without saying a word. Gohan looks appropriately sorry. “Piccolo, I’m- -”

“I have no time to babysit, Gohan!” Piccolo growls. “If you can’t help, go home to your mother!” Gohan stays where he is, unsure what to do, realizing just how bad he’d messed up. “Krillan!” Piccolo calls, launching back into battle without another word or look at Gohan. I hear a rock fall and look around.

Turns out, Tien had been trying to get closer to the battle while we’d all been watching said battle, but he was quickly drained. Gohan sees him and shakes him. “Hey, Mr. Tien!” He calls, “Please don’t be dead!” 

Back in the air, Nappa gets tired of watching Piccolo and Krillan whisper, summoning energy and glowing with it. “Hey! Don’t tell me you guys are still trying to come up with a plan! Give it up!” He calls, launching toward them. The pair manage to hold him off but nothing more. He then begins to power up, Piccolo and Krillan freezing in fear before attacking again, the battle raging around the nearby outcroppings. 

Reminding me of the other people involved, Tien collapses, groaning in pain. I almost want to end his misery right now, but Gohan was in the way and I hold my hand, pretending I wasn’t watching. 

“Tien, thank goodness you’re alive!” Gohan cheers. Not for long, by the look of him. He seems to be in so much pain he’s hallucinating. He has his hand out and keeps repeating Chiaotzu’s name like he was in front of Tien. “Are you okay?” Gohan asks. Tien doesn’t reply.

Inspired by whatever he saw, Tien struggles to his feet. He even walks a little closer to the airborne battle as there’s a small pause. “No, Chiaotzu, I’m sorry.” He mumbles and I know he hallucinated his friend. “I’m the one who failed you.” I bite my lip, reminded of the comparison I’d made to losing Vegeta. “I should have protected you, but I promise I’m going to make it up to you. Right now!” Damn those two were close. Good thing they’d be reunited soon. Anything Tien did would draw attention to himself and he wouldn’t survive another attack. He knows that, charging up an attack. “I’ll be with you again soon, Chaiotzu!” He cries, the energy he summoned impressive, illuminating his entire body before concentrating in his hand. He then launches it with a shout. My eyes go wide and my jaw drops at the sheer energy Tien had managed to gather in his state, the beam wide and powerful. 

Nappa is surprised to see the blast hurdling toward him, unable to dodge before it hits him. “What?!” Vegeta barks in shock. “How?” 

“It seems that earthling had one last attack to launch.” I mumble, having to contain a smirk. These earthlings were impressing me more and more the longer this went on. 

However, no matter how much respect that gutsy move earned Tien in my book, it still was not enough to seriously hurt Nappa. “Th-there’s no way!” Krillan moans, shaking in terror. Nappa had once again survived something the earthlings were sure would defeat him. They were losing morale and quickly. Soon, I’d have to implement my plan. Now that the team had an idea of our power, it would probably work. 

“I know!” Piccolo replies, equally as stunned. “This is insane!” If even Piccolo was shaken, my plan had a better chance of working out. I hate the idea of threatening or hurting Gohan, but at least the pair would survive. 

Tien, barely alive, wobbles on his feet. “N-no…” He groans. “I failed...again.” He collapses, and I doubt he’ll ever be getting up again. 

“The poor thing killed himself with that blast.” I note, trying to sound mocking despite my heart aching. The poor guy had launched that attack praying it would stop this madness. He died knowing he failed. 

“Too bad.” Vegeta replies, smiling. “It would have worked if Nappa hadn’t seen it coming at the last second.” I nod. Krillan looks down, and I can barely see his grief. Then, anger takes over. 

“Goku!” He roars. “Why aren’t you here?!” Ah yes. Their last hope had yet to arrive and the good he could do was dwindling by the minute. Soon, there’d be no choice but to use my plan and try to get the Dragonballs before Kakarot gets here. 

Vegeta once again frowns in thought at the mention of Goku. 

“Who is this Goku?” He wonders aloud. I decide I may as well tell him. “Interesting.” He muses. He then seems to realize what I had realized. “Is it..?” I walk over. 

“I think you may be right.” I note. “Kakarot may have been given the name Goku after he lost his memory.” Vegeta frowns, looking at me. 

“What’re you talking about?” I ignore Nappa taunting Piccolo and Krillan, focusing on my conversation.

“In the recording of Radditz, I remember someone telling Kakarot that he suffered a head injury as a child and forgot being a Saiyan and his mission here.” I explain. Now, all I had to do was convince Vegeta that my plan was our best move, tell Nappa to stand down, grab Gohan, and get Krillan and Piccolo to tell us where the Dragonballs where and how to work them before Kakarot gets here. The unknown time factor meant I couldn’t wait any longer. “I think we should implement the plan, use Gohan as a hostage to get the Dragonballs.” Vegeta frowns in thought. 

Just then, Piccolo and Krillan land on the ground, and Nappa roars as he dives to attack. “Vegeta, it’s now or never!” I growl. I could only pray I’d convinced him. 

“Nappa, stop right there!” Vegeta orders, leaving no room for argument. As always, Nappa freezes, looking at Vegeta in surprise. My heart was pounding. As long as he was convinced, I could make myself hold Gohan hostage. I could do it if it meant he’d live. It all depended on Vegeta. “Hold on; I need to ask them something.” I’m barely even breathing. I almost felt light-headed with anticipation as I waited to see what Vegeta decided. 

“If you say so.” Nappa replies, hanging in mid-air. “You’re the boss.” I swallow, once more oblivious to prying and confused Namekian eyes from above. 

“I’m curious about this Goku they keep talking about.” Vegeta explains, prolonging the suspense. “Because I’m starting to suspect that the person they’re referring to is actually Kakarot, and Sarada agrees with me.” The use of my name startles me out of my tense posture. 

“Yes. If I remember the recording of Radditzs’ attack correctly, Goku is the name whoever found Kakarot gave him after Kakarot suffered amnesia from a head injury.” I explain, walking forward, hands tense against my abdomen with my arms crossed to hide my tension. 

“Yeah! Whatever you called him, that’s right!” Krillan confirms, and I could almost kiss him. Now with confirmation, we could use Gohan to get what we wanted out of Piccolo and Krillan and get our immortality. Vegeta laughs. “What’s so funny?” Krillan asks tensely. 

“That you two think Kakarot can beat us.” Vegeta replies smugly. I make myself look smug as well, but don’t comment. I felt almost nauseous with tension waiting to see if he’d let Piccolo and Krillan die. “He couldn’t even beat his brother, Radditz, and Radditz was a weakling compared to Nappa, Sarada, and myself.” I nod, but again am too tense to say anything. I start trying to calm myself down. I had to be ready for anything and being this tense would lead to mistakes, and Vegeta didn’t accept mistakes.

“Shows how much you know!” Krillan protests. “He’s way stronger than he was before!” I tilt my head, feeling a bit better for the moment. At least, enough to better play my part. 

“Oh?” I ask coyly. “How would you know? Wasn’t Kakarot killed in the fight against Radditz? If so, how do you know he’s coming back?” I shrug.    


“We know, okay?!” Krillan snaps, wise enough to not give away too many details. To cut off further conversation, Piccolo grits his teeth. 

“Just wait. You’ll meet your match in Goku.” 

“Sarada’s right, though!” Nappa calls. “This planet ain’t that big, so why isn’t he here yet?” The question makes Piccolo and Krillan narrow their eyes, insulted we were doubting their friend. “He’s smart! He’s not gonna show up here! He’s hiding!” Finally having enough, apparently, Gohan speaks up.

“Hey, you jerk!” He screams. “My dad never ran from anyone! He’ll be here and he’ll beat you, just you wait!” Vegeta glances at Gohan, frowning. 

“You’ve caught my interest.” He notes. “We’re going to wait for him.” I almost pass out from relief. Vegeta gave me more than I hoped for! He is basically ensuring that these Krillan, Gohan, and Piccolo would survive. He’s still looking in Gohan’s direction, but I could tell he was planning ahead, figuring out what our best moves are. “Take a break, Nappa. Cool off for a while.” He orders. Nappa, however, looks disgruntled. 

“C’mon, Vegeta! That’s ridiculous!” He protests, a dangerous thing to do. “I was about to finish him off here!” Vegeta, though, takes it in stride.

“Just hold off for three hours.” He insists, holding up three fingers for emphasis. “We’ll give them that.” Nappa grits his teeth and groans. He then picks the most dangerous route to go; he pushes his protest. 

“Forget it! I say they die now!” I wince. He may have just signed his death warrant. Who knows with Vegeta.

“Nappa, stop!” I roar. 

“Do you _really_ want to defy me?!” Vegeta adds, letting his anger out. He never liked being crossed, especially by someone with that big of a power gap. Instantly, Nappa halts again. This time, he had real terror in his eyes, glancing back at Vegeta and me to see us glaring at him. 

“I-I’m sorry, Vegeta, Sarada. I guess I got carried away.” He hangs in the air as Vegeta, happy he still held power over Nappa, smiles and looks at Piccolo and Krillan. 

“The battle will resume in 3 hours, whether Kakarot is here or not.” Vegeta says. After all the excitement, I suddenly felt tired enough for a nap. Nappa is released to do whatever, and I can’t protest as I yawn. 

“Well if you don’t have anything else you want to do, I’m going to take a nap.” I inform Vegeta, stretching. Vegeta nods. 

“Go ahead. Grab your scouter so you don’t oversleep.” He says, nodding toward where our scouters were miraculously laying fairly unharmed. I walk over toward the scouters as the earthlings and Piccolo regroup to wait for Kakarot. 

Speaking of Piccolo, as soon as Gohan joined the group, Piccolo’s mood soured exponentially. He crosses his arms, glaring at Gohan and I realize Piccolo was mad and disappointed that Gohan hadn’t attacked Nappa when he had the chance. No one needed to speak for Gohan to know just how upset his teacher was at him.

Krillan holds his hands out placatingly. “Oh, c’mon, Piccolo.” He says. “You can’t really blame him. This is the first time Gohan has been in an actual battle. It’s scary enough as it is.” I’m struck by the vast differences in the Saiyan training method and the earthlings training method. 

If I had been in that situation at Gohan’s age, I would have been socked in the gut and sentenced to sparring til I bled and my limbs were limp with muscle failure. 

But Piccolo, so far, was not acting violently as punishment toward Gohan for Gohan’s failure. He was mad, sure, but he gave no physical punishment. Likely, he knew that Gohan felt completely horrible about failing and Piccolo was allowing that guilt to act as penance. 

“Well, I’m more angry at myself for counting on him. What a waste of time!” Harsh as the words were, I close my eyes and think it over. Piccolo had a point. 

In that one moment, Gohan didn’t fly up so he was the only one who could have attacked Nappa. However, if Gohan had taken the leap, and Krillan or Piccolo had stayed on the ground, the battle could have been ended or at least turned in the earthling’s favor for a moment. 

But things didn’t happen that way. 

“Just go home, Gohan!” Piccolo growls. I flinch a little as I settle my back against the rock Vegeta sat on, facing away from everyone as if unconcerned by what’s happening. “If you’re not going to fight, you’ll only slow us down!” 

I remember those words being spat at me, practically verbatim, by my father when I yelled at him for leaving me out of assignments he was considering sending Vegeta on. I blink back the warning prickle of advancing tears and settle down, trying to nap. 

“Please, Vegeta!” Of course, I wouldn’t be allowed to enjoy the respite from battle. “I was just starting to have fun! Now I’m bored!” Nappa whines, still pressing for some reason to continue his slaughter. I grit my teeth. If Vegeta didn’t say anything, I would. 

“Calm down. You’re keeping Sarada awake.” Vegeta replies calmly. “Use some willpower. There’s going to be a much better show in three hours, I promise.” He chuckles, and I don’t have to look to know he has an evilly amused smirk on his face.

For Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillan’s sake, I can only hope Kakarot shows up within the three hours Vegeta allowed.


	7. Nappa's Rampage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three hours allotted pass quickly, and Sarada is left to wonder who will survive Nappa's renewed assault and if Goku will show up in time to save his friends.

**Okay, so I got a review on fanfiction.net asking if I will have a Saiyan-Namekian hybrid. While it can't happen, uh, normally, I'm not opposed to some of the suggestions I've gotten (dragonballs or science). In fact, I was talking to a friend of mine and we came up with an origin for my hypothetical hybrid kid. Lemme know what y'all think about it!**

**Also, thank you all for being invested enough in this story to give me feedback! It means a lot!**

**Okay so now let's get on with the story! I'm gonna try to get a new chapter out at a more frequent pace, but we'll see how it goes.**

**God Bless and Good Day!**

**~The Lupine Sojourner**

The quiet lasted only about 15 minutes before Nappa spoke up again.

"I can't take it, Vegeta! Why're we waiting?!" I groan.

"Nappa, we talked about this. Do not make Vegeta repeat himself." I grumble.

Vegeta decided to address Nappa anyway. "I've decided we need to teach Kakarot a little lesson." He explains. "Kakarot was given the chance to join us. He chose to betray us." 

_That's one way of looking at it._ I think to myself. _I see it as Kakarot choosing to stand up for the people he cared about. Kakarot has made a life for himself and is willing to defend it._

"He's forgotten what it means to be a Saiyan, and therefore must be punished." Vegeta continues. I sit up, nap forgotten for now. I notice that during the 15 or so minutes of quiet, Vegeta had grabbed his scouter. I hadn't heard him move to grab it.

"If he shows up." I point out with a groan as I stretch a bit.

"He will, I think." Vegeta replies. "We'll wait for him to show his cowardly face. Then, we'll make him watch as we kill his son and all of his friends." Nappa chuckles, but my heart stops.

"Vegeta, what about my idea?" I ask, daring to bring this point up, keeping my voice level, sounding a little irritated that he was ignoring my plan. For a reason I can't be sure of, I did not want to see Gohan hurt or killed. And if I could spar Piccolo, too, I'd do that.

"Sarada, I was willing to play along with your idea. I never said I wouldn't kill them anyway, though." I grit my teeth. I couldn't further protest without risking Vegeta finding out about my 'soft side', so I sigh.

"Fair enough." I reply, crossing my arms. "Just thought you may have forgotten." Had to give an excuse for my question.

"I didn't." Vegeta assures me. "And, after Kakarot had realized the price of his betrayal, we can all take our time tearing him apart." I hold back a shudder.

Sometimes, Vegeta scared me with just how brutal he could be. Nappa was just as bad, laughing at the thought of what Vegeta was going to do.

"I like the way you think, Vegeta! That's a great plan!"

Vegeta nods. "Of course, it all depends on whether or not he actually decides to show up." Nappa leans forward eagerly, like a child plotting a prank.

"And if the guy doesn't show up in a couple'a hours, I still get to kill these three, right?" This time, with the other Saiyans occupied, I let a small shudder out. I could practically hear Kakarot screaming as Vegeta and Nappa torture him, first by killing those dear to him, then by tearing his body apart.

"No, Nappa, not all three right away." Vegeta replies, cutting off my disturbing daydream. "Once the bald one is gone, we'll let Sarada use the kid to get the information on the Dragonballs out of the Namekian, then you can have your fun with them." Vegeta replies. I gulp, praying it wouldn't come to that. I knew I would have to hold that poor kid hostage, probably hurt him, but now that I know how this will end, I can't help but wish I'd come up with a better plan.

Nappa chuckles in glee. "Don't you worry about a thing, Vegeta. The Namekian will spill his guts by the time Sarada's through with him." I take a breath. If this was my only option, I had to take it.

Then something distracts me; Krillan is pacing. "What's the matter, Krillan?" Gohan asks. I can barely hear due to the distance, but I can make out what's being said.

"It's just...Goku should be here by now." Krillan replies, "What's the deal? Was he brought back to life or not?!" Gohan looks to Piccolo, who was staring into space, probably deep in thought.

"Piccolo?" Gohan asks timidly.

"Hey." Krillan says, walking closer to the Namekian. "Why're we even stickin' around here anyway?" He asks. "We can't beat these guys! We should just run while we have the chance!" I blink. Krillan didn't seem to have a solid spine, though he had toughened up during the fight. I suppose now he knew the stakes, his courage was failing him.

Piccolo looks down at him. "You can run, but what's the point? If we don't stop them here, you'll have to face them eventually." That was true. "You might as well stay and get it over with." That was also true. Piccolo seemed to have a very good reading on the situation. Krillan, however, wasn't done protesting.

"But this is crazy! We need Goku! Where is he?!" I feel bad for Krillan. Not everyone would choose to stay and fight despite overwhelming odds. "Why isn't he here?!" Piccolo scoffs.

"We don't know, so there's no point getting hysterical." Piccolo grumbles. Krillan seems to calm.

"So what do you suggest we do, Piccolo?" Piccolo asks. "What happens if Goku doesn't make it?"

"Who knows?" Piccolo replies, not betraying much emotion on his face as he looks at his allies. "We all know that Goku is on his way here." He points out. "Maybe he'll make it in the next few hours, and maybe he won't." He then sets his jaw. "But whether or not he makes it here, we're going to have to see our way through this together. We can't just give up because things aren't the way we want them to be." I smile a little. I was beginning to like Piccolo and his outlook. "We need to be strong. It's up to us now."

Apparently still guilty about his earlier failure, Gohan looks down at the ground. "I'm really sorry about earlier guys." He mumbles, and I can barely hear what he said. "Guess I just froze when I saw him coming at me. If it weren't for me, Tien would still be alive." It's good Gohan fully realizes the gravity of what happened, but I can't help wanting to comfort him somehow. Piccolo looks down, unsympathetic.

"It hurts, doesn't it? Facing your fears would've been much less painful." He points out. I find I agree with Piccolo and might have said something similar if I were Gohan's instructor. Gohan looks down again.

"Hey, go easy on him, Piccolo." Krillan replies. If Piccolo were easy on Gohan, Gohan would never learn. "Given his age and everything, I think it's a miracle he's even out here at all. I mean, if it were me, I probably would have been long gone by now." Gohan looks at Krillan gratefully, but there's still guilt in his expression. He mumbles something to Krillan, but he's so quiet I can't hear.

"Gohan, you know how to fight. Remember your training!" Piccolo says, tone a little harsh, but not unkind. Gohan looks even more scared.

"But I'm not ready!" He replies. I sigh. There lies Gohan's problem; he had no confidence whatsoever in his fighting abilities. If he could just get it in his head that he was ready, that he could fight more than he thought he could, he would be a help to his allies, not just another body to worry about. "We still have two hours!" Gohan continues, pleading with Piccolo. "Maybe you could train me some more while we're waiting!" If this were a simple training tournament, I'd offer to spar with him, excusing it as a way to alleviate my boredom, but this was a serious fight for the planet, so I stay put and stay silent.

"The training is complete!" Piccolo snaps. Gohan winces. "I taught you everything I know. Just go home." Gohan looks crushed by Piccolo's words. This poor kid couldn't see his own combat potential. My heart aches for him. I could relate to feeling in over your head when you start fighting.

However, he had to get over that. He had to tap into his Saiyan side and fight for his planet. "But, Piccolo…" Gohan protests, falling short when he realizes he's not getting any training or any comfort from Piccolo. He looks even more crushed and I can't help remembering the days I'd felt like less than dirt because my trainer hadn't been satisfied with my performance and laid into me for it.

And all I could do now was watch Gohan begin to walk away, Krillan looking between Piccolo and Gohan as if expecting Piccolo to take back what he said and reassure Gohan. When that didn't happen, Krillan took it upon himself. "Wait, Piccolo!" He protests, shocked at Piccolo's treatment of Gohan. Gohan continued walking and Piccolo did nothing.

Tough love, it seemed, was Piccolo's approach to training. Gohan would be safe at home. Piccolo, in his harsh way, was looking out for his student.

"Gohan, come back!" Krillan calls. "Wait a second! We need you! He doesn't really want you to go." Yes, yes Piccolo did. Despite Krillan's request for Piccolo to verbalize that he wanted Gohan to stay, Piccolo didn't move. I would have let Gohan go, but it appeared Nappa had other ideas.

He blasts a bit of ki in front of Gohan, causing a bigger explosion than I thought necessary. Gohan falls back, landing on his butt. "Hey, you little brat!" He calls. Gohan turns, eyes wide in shock. "You better run home! Wouldn't want you to get hurt!" Vegeta and Nappa were smirking, Nappa even laughing and waving Gohan on, but I remained in the background, not wanting to pretend to mock this poor kid. Gohan gets up, gritting his teeth and fully facing Nappa. It seemed Nappa had touched a nerve.

"You shut up, you big bully! I'm not running away! You can't scare me anymore! I was just going over there to use the bathroom if that's okay with you." By the end of his statement, Gohan was already softening, returning to the timid kid that had been walking away. "You could use a shower yourself." He adds, barely audible. Nappa puts a hand to his ear.

"What's that?" He asks as if he didn't hear Gohan. "Speak up, kid!" Gohan doesn't say anything. "Well?" Nappa presses. Gohan glares at Nappa.

"Okay! I said you smell!" He calls back. Nappa is shocked at the boy's nerve, and I can't help laughing a little.

"Why you little runt!" Nappa snarls. "How dare you?!" If we didn't intervene, Nappa might attack, so I move closer as Vegeta chuckles. "You're brave now, but we'll see what happens in two hours!" Luckily, Nappa remembers that he can't attack till the two hours (wait it's been a whole hour already?!) had passed.

There are a few minutes of silence, then we all hear a rumbling noise. Then I spot the source, as does everyone else. It's a small vehicle with about four earthlings on it, one holding a matching on its shoulders. I sigh. What was with earthlings and being so reckless as to get that close to a fight like this? It's like they have a death wish.

"Look at those nosy human beings." Nappa scoffs. He turns to Vegeta. "Hey, you mind if have a little fun, Vegeta? Cus I'm bored."

Vegeta returns Nappa's smirk. "Why not? Just save a little energy. With Kakarot here, things could get intense."

"You think so?" Nappa asks, smiling like Vegeta was telling a joke.

"Maybe." Vegeta insists. It was a good idea to be a little cautious about the unknown factor of Kakarot. "He is one of us, after all."

"Sounds good. I can't wait!" Nappa replies, preparing to 'have fun'. "I won't even break a sweat, I promise." He seemed ready to fly away.

"Take your scouter, idiot." I call, crossing my arms. "We wouldn't want you to be late." I add, smirking to make sure Nappa knew to be back. I didn't want to prolong this any longer than I had to. Nappa does grab the scouter, then takes off, giving the vehicle occupants a scare as he flies over them, laughing.

They try to leave, but it's no use; Nappa follows them and moments later, white light comes from over the small cliffy area the vehicle had disappeared into.

With nothing better to do, I decide to continue my nap. "Vegeta, if I somehow sleep through my scouter timer, wake me in an hour." I mumble, settling back down and setting a one-hour timer.

Vegeta nods. "I'll make sure you're awake." He replies. I fall asleep surprisingly quickly.

=#=#=#=#=

Next thing I know, there's a beeping noise in my ear. I groan and sit up, popping my back.

"There's just one hour left." Vegeta muses impatiently, not looking back at me as I take off my scouter. "If Kakarot was going to bother showing up he would have done so by now."

"He doesn't know about the time limit and we don't know where he's coming from." I point out, standing and stretching my arms. "Let's just give him the last hour. He may still show."

"Fine. Just don't blame me if he doesn't show."

"Of course not." I reply. "It'll be Kakarot's fault." I mumble. Now I had an hour to kill before Nappa got back and Kakarot could potentially show up. So far, nothing.

To pass the time, I try to come up with a plan to get the earthlings out of this.

The minutes tick by and I can't think of anything. All I had was using Gohan to get Piccolo to tell us about the Dragonballs, but even then Vegeta was going to kill them anyway. I couldn't protest that without appearing weak, so I was stuck.

I'd have to watch them die no matter what I did.

All too quickly, the remaining time passed, and our Scouters beeped.

Vegeta, eyes closed, scowls before opening his eyes. "Time's up!" He calls. Instantly, the earthlings are tense. Vegeta smiles as he stands. "So, Kakarot decided to let you die on your own." He taunts as he tosses his scouter aside.

As if on cue, Nappa's voice sounds out above us. "Hey, Vegeta, Sarada." He lands near us, looking around and noticing the lack of a fourth opponent. "Where's Kakarot?"

"Isn't that the question of the day." I grumble, crossing my arms. Wherever Kakarot was, he was sure taking his sweet time coming to his ally's aid. And I could no longer stall for time even with my plan. In fact, my plan was fairly useless since they would die anyway.

Piccolo's only hope was that he was still somewhat useful, and that's a pretty fragile hope since Vegeta would likely kill him no matter what he did or said. You never knew with Vegeta sometimes.

"You were right, Nappa; he's not coming." Vegeta replies.

"Yes, he is!" Gohan exclaims, glaring at us. "My dad's not afraid! He'll be here!"

"That's right!" Krillan affirms. "He'd never abandon his friends!"

I sigh, motioning around us. "If that were true, where is he? Why has it taken so long for him to appear?"

Nappa suddenly decides to take off his armor. "Hey!" I bark, surprised. "What are you doing?" I hiss as Nappa stretches.

"I got tired of wearing the armor." Nappa says as if it should have been obvious. "Oh, yeah. Much better!" I roll my eyes. This wasn't a common occurrence, but it was always weird when he went topless. "I should be able to make quick work of these weaklings." Nappa cracks his knuckles, walking closer to the earthlings. "Now, you wanna die one at a time? Or all three at once? Pick!" I frown, watching.

"You don't want to use your plan?" Vegeta asks. I sigh.

"I may, once the bald one is dead." I reply. Vegeta hums.

"Alright, pay attention, you two." Piccolo murmurs, trying to come up with a plan of attack. "We only have one chance to beat him. But it's going to take all of us for this to work. Krillan, I want you to charge him. Don't get too close. I just need you to hold his complete attention for a few seconds. Meanwhile, I'm going to sneak up behind him and grab his tail. That's a Saiyan's weak point." I almost warn them about our lack of that weakness, but know it would look like I'm betraying Vegeta and Nappa so I stay quiet.

"Right." Krillan replies, glad they had a plan.

"We just have to hope they share that weakness." I bite my tongue. This would not go well. "Gohan, while I'm holding his tail, I want you to attack him full force." Gohan pales.

"But...I don't know, Piccolo." He mumbles. "I mean, what happens if I miss?" I think it would be better to have Piccolo attack while Gohan grabs the tail. That way, it would take some pressure off Gohan.

"You won't miss." Piccolo replies shortly. "Don't worry. You have all you need to get the job done, I promise you that. Gohan, shake it off!" Piccolo barks, noting that his student didn't appear steady. "What you did before was only natural, but you're ready now, I can see that. I have full confidence in you." Gohan seems to grow a bit more confident now that he had his teacher's assurance. Too bad their plan wouldn't work.

"Me, too, Gohan." Krillan pipes in.

I felt so helpless. I couldn't tell them their plan was doomed because doing so would more than likely mean my death. The plan I had for using Gohan to get Piccolo to tell us about the Dragonballs was no longer viable since the entire point of my using my plan was that they'd survive, and Vegeta was going to tell them anyway.

But my mouth kept almost opening to warn them, accepting the consequences.

Nearly 25 years in the Frieza Force had taught me to hide my real emotions, however, appearing cold and apathetic when I needed to.

Nappa grew closer to his targets. I couldn't tell if he was ignoring the plan the earthlings had come up with or if he simply didn't care since it wouldn't work.

Either way, no power in the universe could save the earthlings and Piccolo now.

Except...maybe Kakarot. Maybe if he was as strong as his friends claim, Kakarot could turn the tide of this one-sided battle.


	8. Nimbus Speed

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a month. Life got hectic, and I honestly forgot I had chapters written that I hadn't posted. So here's this. **

**And as a late Thanksgiving present, I'll give y'all another chapter right after this! I just need to proofread it! :)**

**Also, I'm probably not gonna do any chapter descriptions anymore. Y'all already know what happens, so there's no point in pretending you all don't know what's about to happen. **

**Last thing! I hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving and that you all enjoy this chapter! **

**God Bless and Happy Holidays!**

**~The Lupine Sojourner**

As Nappa approaches, Krillan looks to the sky as if to see deliverance there. “C’mon...Goku, where are you?! Hurry!” He urges. 

I can’t help but echo that sentiment. 

I didn’t want to see all these brave fighters destroyed. They were only trying to defend their planet. They didn’t deserve to die like this.

Piccolo grits his teeth. “Until Goku arrives, it’s up to us to slow these three down.” He says, determined still to fight as long as he could. He looks to Krillan. “Krillan, are you ready to put this plan into action?” He asks. 

Again, Nappa doesn’t seem to care. Probably, he was cocky since he knew their plan wouldn’t affect him, and he was already winning the fight. 

“You bet.” Krillan replies, seeming as determined as Piccolo was to fight. 

“Alright then. Let’s do this!” Piccolo growls, ready to go. 

“Well?” Nappa calls, walking forward brashly with his hands outstretched, nonplussed. “Don’t keep me waiting too long. The suspense might kill me!” 

I frown. Was he playing like he didn’t know what they were planning? I can’t tell, but it doesn’t matter. Then, Nappa stops. “Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t get your hopes up like that.” He taunts. “Not that you had any to begin with. Hope, I mean.” 

I roll my eyes. Typical Nappa, taunting and being overly cocky. He’d be better served assessing his opponents and figuring out how to handle them. “It doesn’t really matter what you do. You’re still gonna die!” Krillan goes into a stance. 

“Fiend!” He calls. “Take this!” Nappa plays along, making me wonder if he had heard the plan or if his ears were ringing from all the explosions around him and he was being cocky. Regardless, Krillan runs right for Nappa, who prepares to take him on. 

“Oh, I’m terrified!” Nappa mocks. “Should I run away?” Just as Nappa was about to grab Krillan, Krillan blasts himself upwards, further distracting Nappa. 

That’s when Piccolo zips faster than I can see normally behind Nappa. Nappa seems surprised, so I can assume he didn’t know the plan. 

“Too bad, Sarada. Their plan would have worked if it were Radditz.” Vegeta muses.

I nod. “Yeah, it would have.” 

The plan goes off nicely, Piccolo grabbing the tail and Krillan and Gohan preparing to attack. 

However, the next second Nappa grins, slamming his elbow into Piccolo’s head. “Gimme a break!” Nappa roars, and Krillan and Gohan freeze in terror, unsure why their plan failed. Vegeta chuckles, watching the panic emerging in the fighters.

Piccolo, to his credit, doesn’t let go of the tail, a purple-blue bruise instantly forming where Nappa had hit him. Piccolo’s eyes were wide in pain and shock, groaning but refusing to let go. 

“Piccolo!” Gohan calls worriedly. Piccolo falls as Nappa smirks. 

“What wrong, Namek?” He asks, grabbing the back of Piccolo’s shirt, the other hand grabbing Piccolo’s chin. “You look surprised.” Piccolo doesn’t respond, hanging on to consciousness by a thread. “Oh don’t go dying on us yet.” Nappa taunts, “You still have to tell us about the Dragonballs!” 

“What happened?” Krillan moans, “What went wrong? Piccolo had his tail…” 

Vegeta laughs. “Grabbing his tail?” He calls tauntingly. “That was your big plan? The three of us have evolved far beyond that ridiculous little weakness!” 

I nod in agreement. 

“Good for us.” Nappa chuckles, still holding Piccolo’s shirt. “Very bad for you.” He lowers his arm, smirking. “One hit,” He mocks, “and he’s supposed to be one of the strongest on the planet.” He tosses Piccolo a short distance onto the ground. 

Gohan rushes over. “Piccolo!” He exclaims. He shakes Piccolo to no avail. “Wake up! Wake up! Please, say something!” 

“Kid, he’s out cold. He can’t help you.” I call, forcing myself to sound mean like I was taunting the poor kid, but I wish I could help him. 

Ignoring me, Gohan continues to shake Piccolo. “We need you!” Above us, Krillan was shaking in fear, mumbling something. 

“Guess that’s that.” Nappa says smugly. “I’ll have to find someone else to play with.” He walks a little closer. “Hmmm, how ‘bout you, kid?” I might let Gohan take just a few hits then try to get Gohan to tell me about the Dragonballs now that Piccolo was out. “You know, you should be proud! You’re a Saiyan, too!” Every muscle in my body wanted to leap out and protect Gohan. He looked petrified, and for good reason. 

The big burly guy that killed his friends was now targeting him. 

The first time I faced an opponent with a large power gap from me, I probably looked the same. 

I had to school my expression now, though, no matter how much I wanted to save poor Gohan. “Well, I suppose you’re only half Saiyan, but still. That’s pretty good.” Nappa taunts then leans down toward Gohan. “The Saiyans are the strongest race in the galaxy.” 

I refrain from mentioning Frieza, who could turn us to ash if he so wished. Gohan, if it were possible, looks even more terrified. Nappa straightens back up. “Yep.” He affirms. “Someday you may have been a great warrior. Someday, but not today.” Nappa kicks Gohan right in the gut, then smacks him back into a nearby outcropping. “Aww, don’t tell me you’ve had enough!” Nappa mocks, “Show me your Saiyan pride!” 

Gohan struggles to get up, and my heart aches, but then he does get back on his feet, wiping the blood from a torn lip and glaring at Nappa. 

I relax just a little. He was alive, but he couldn’t take much more, so I had to intervene soon. I could use Gohan to find out about the Dragonballs while Nappa deals with Krillan. I couldn’t save both of them, so I pick the younger of the two and ready myself to threaten the poor kid. 

“I am going to interrogate the kid while Nappa deals with the other earthling.” I whisper to Vegeta. He turns to me.

“You gave up on your previous plan?” I nod, shrugging as if I didn’t care. 

“The Namekian is out for the count. Figured I may as well just switch who I talk to.” 

He nods, sighing.  “Fine. Talk to the boy. I don’t care.” 

“Haha, that’s it! Die like a man!” Nappa jeers, but just as Nappa leaps to attack again, Krillan zips over and kicks Nappa aside before punching him backward. I am surprised, pleasantly, and nearly smile at Krillan’s brave move. 

Before Krillan can launch another attack, Nappa charges to return the attack. Krillan dodges, leaping away and gritting his teeth as he tries to think of a plan. Nappa’s punch slams into the ground instead of striking Krillan.

Vegeta laughs. “He’s making you look bad, Nappa.” He calls. 

“Not for long!” Nappa snarls, freeing his fist. “He’s mine!” Nappa leaps out, but Krillan smirks, holding up his hand. 

I frown, wondering what he could be planning. 

He begins groaning and shouting as he charges up some kind of energy attack.  Then, lightning starts crackling from his hand, forming a disk-like object floating above his head. 

“That’s interesting.” I mumble. 

Vegeta hums.  “We’ll see how effective it is.”

“Here, catch!” Krillan calls, increasing the speed of the disk’s spinning and preparing to toss it. He begins gathering momentum, sending it around in circles a few times before sending it toward Nappa. “Destructo-disk!” 

I blink. I didn’t think it possible, but Krillan might be able to kill Nappa with that thing. Without his armor on, Nappa was even more vulnerable. 

“Nappa, don’t touch it!” I bark. Vegeta seems to agree without saying anything. Nappa does end up dodging it...mostly. It still grazes his cheek before it goes flying out of control, slicing the top of an outcropping which led me to believe I’d been right to warn Nappa. 

“What a fool.” Vegeta growls. “That shot would have sliced him in two.” I am relieved Nappa wasn’t dead. 

“So...close.” Krillan groans. 

Nappa glares down at his cheek where the cut was beginning to bleed, a single drop trailing down his cheek. “You...you cut me!”  _ And you’ve done so much worse to his friends.  _ I think to myself, sighing a little. “Oh, you’ve gone and done it now! You scarred my beautiful face and you’re gonna pay for it!” 

I snicker.  “I wouldn’t say beautiful…” I mumble, smirking. 

Nappa then summons energy to his hand, white light glowing from it. Krillan braces for the strike as Nappa charges closer.  “Here, little man! Catch this one!” Nappa then launches the blast and Krillan dodges it, unfortunately getting caught up in the resulting explosion. 

“Krillan, no!” Gohan screams, watching as Krillan is struggling to stay conscious after the blast and Nappa prepares another one. 

Krillan seems to recover a little, spotting the impending attack and paling in terror. “Sorry, you lose!” Nappa cackles, stalking toward his prey.

A blast suddenly collides with Nappa’s back. Glancing around, I see Piccolo standing there. I hold in a snicker. We’d forgotten about Piccolo, discounting him since he had been out cold till now. 

Nappa’s back has a raw red spot now. Small, but there. 

Nappa groans, arms reaching toward the spot. “What in the- -who did that?!” He snarls, turning around to find out. Krillan falls, hitting the ground as Nappa’s eyes lock on Piccolo, “You Namekian trash!” He roars, “You think you can shoot me in the back and get away with it?! How dare you!” 

“I thought it was your face.” Piccolo replies, standing. I can’t help coughing to try to contain my laughter. 

“The Namekian has a little humor.” I muse, still smiling as Vegeta looks at me. Vegeta then smiles as well. 

“A little.” He concedes. Nappa is stunned by Piccolo’s response. 

“Why you little- -I’m gonna- !” Nappa can’t seem to find words. Vegeta just laughs. 

“I don’t know, Nappa. It’s an easy enough mistake.” He calls. I laugh again, enjoying the teasing without worrying about repercussions. 

Piccolo proceeds to ruin the light mood. “Bring it on!” He calls to Nappa. “I’m tired of you and your loud mouth!” 

Nappa turns toward Piccolo, “You arrogant fool! Your life is mine to take whenever I want!” I flinch, remembering what Vegeta had said about Piccolo. “The only reason you’re still breathing is because we need you need to tell us where the Dragonballs, and once we have them, you’ll be nothing more than a memory!” 

“You caught me by surprise.” Piccolo concedes. “It won’t happen again.” Then, something changes in Piccolo’s face. It’s like he saw a ghost or- -wait...didn’t he say he could sense power levels? So...is he sensing Kakarot approaching? “What in the world am I sensing?” He mumbles, glancing around as if to see whatever he had felt. I narrow my eyes. “There’s an incredibly huge power level that’s heading straight for us!” 

“You’re bluffing!” I growl. Beside me, Vegeta’s brow rises. 

“It-it’s my dad!” Gohan pipes up, relief and hope in his eyes. I pale a little. They were serious...and Piccolo said the power level was ‘incredibly huge’. It might be a Kakarot that’s more powerful than the Saiyan that fought Radditz with Piccolo a year ago. “He’s different somehow, but I know it’s him!” 

Gohan starts crying in relief and I realize it’s been a year since Gohan has seen his father. He was probably also crying in happiness at seeing his dad again. 

“I knew he’d save us.” Krillan groans, voice pained but happy as well. 

I start to feel happier, as well. That means these guys have a much much better chance of surviving. “Get ‘em, Goku.” Nappa looks around, and I find myself subtly doing the same. 

“You’re just trying to distract me!” Nappa roars, seeing no one. “You can’t sense power levels without some kind of device.” 

Piccolo smirks. “Afraid you’re wrong.” He retorts. 

“Like Sarada said, you’re bluffing!” Nappa snaps. 

“Oh? Wait and see. It’s Goku, alright! He’s on his way here right now, and judging by the power I’m sensing, you Saiyans are in store for the fight of your lives.” 

Gohan’s grin increases. 

“Wow, this is great! I knew my dad would make it here in time! Hurry up, Daddy!” He calls, staring at a point on the horizon. Krillan mumbles something but I can’t quite hear. 

I find myself excited to meet another Saiyan and to see just how powerful he really is. 

Nappa is still in denial, however. “You’re all a bunch of liars!” He snarls. “Where is he?!” He glances around again. “I don’t see anyone! Vegeta, Sarada, what do you think? Is Kakarot coming or not?” I frown. 

“I don’t know... “ I reply, hand on my chin in thought. They seemed so confident, so sure Kakarot was almost here. Vegeta sighs. 

“Calm down, Nappa!” He orders, picking up his scouter. “Certainly there’s nothing to worry about.” I let Vegeta use his scouter to figure out the truth, almost holding my breath in anticipation. “Who cares, anyway? Let him come.” Seconds later, Vegeta’s calm attitude vanished. 

“What’s wrong?” I ask, turning to look at Vegeta. He just stands there, stunned. “Vegeta?” I press. If he was this unsettled, It must mean Piccolo, Krillan, and Gohan were right. 

“Hey, snap out of it!” Nappa calls. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something!” Nappa laughs nervously. “C’mon! Don’t tell me there’s some sorta truth to what these fools are saying?” 

“I think there is.” I reply for Vegeta, glancing at the point on the horizon that the scouter seemed to indicate the power level was coming from, still seeing nothing. 

Vegeta then shakes himself. “There is.” He says. “Something is definitely coming this way, but it can’t be Kakarot!” He grumbles, following Nappa in denial. “The power level’s too high!” 

“The Zenkai boost!” I exclaim when I realize what could be responsible for Kakarot’s increased power. “He literally died and came back. It’s possible the Zenkai boost explains his higher power level.”

“He has a power level of 5000.” Vegeta reports. “I doubt that’s all due to the Zenkai.” 

I pale a little. I may see Nappa die here...and may have to defend Vegeta from Kakarot...in a way, it’s amazing, but at the same time, I didn’t want to have to kill one of the few Saiyans left... 

“What?!” Nappa exclaims, stunned. “No way! 5000?!” 

“The scouter doesn’t lie.” I mumble. 

“No! It must be malfunctioning!” 

“It isn’t.” I reply. 

Piccolo laughs. “So then. You still think I’m bluffing?” 

“Nappa, quickly! Kill them all!” Vegeta orders out of nowhere.

My heart skips a beat. “We still need the information on the Dragonballs.” I point out, trying not to show my almost panic. 

“We can’t let them join with this fighter!” Vegeta retorts. I swallow. _All my scheming was for nothing! They’d die!_ “If it is Kakarot, he must know that we will not be opposed by anyone!” 

“But, Sarada’s right!” Nappa counters. “What about the Dragonballs?” 

“We don’t need these fools to find them! It’s all becoming clear to me now; it must have been the Nameks who created the Drgonaballs on this planet. I’ve heard of the magic balls of Namek before, but I’d always thought they were just a legend. It can’t be just a coincidence that while searching for these Dragonballs, we find a Namek.”

“Doesn’t that mean the Namekian here is connected to them?” I ask, feeling bold in my haste to try to save as many of these fighters as I could. “Shouldn’t we leave the Namek alive, just in case?” 

“A Namek is all we need to make the Dragonballs, and Namek is loaded with them! And if this one doesn’t want to cooperate, we can always find one that will.” 

I almost faint. For the first time, I was actually rooting for our opponents, finding myself sympathizing with their efforts to save their planet and friends. Figures I'd be rewarded by watching them die.

“Which means you’re expendable!” Nappa tells Piccolo, grinning wickedly. 

“Piccolo, leave now!” Gohan suggests, shocking everyone. “I can take this bully all by myself until my dad gets here!” 

I hold in a groan. Poor kid had just sealed his doom. 

“What?” Piccolo asks, a bit shocked. 

I sigh. “Kid, that’s cute and all, but the Namek has the largest power level here, and he can’t handle Nappa.” I point out, managing a smirk somehow. 

Gohan ignores me, still looking at Piccolo. “If we lose you, the Dragonballs will disappear and we won’t be able to wish our friends back to life!” 

I pale. “What?!” I exclaim. 

“Thanks for the concern, Gohan,” Piccolo replies, cutting off anything else I may have said or asked. “but I really don’t think you can handle these guys alone.” 

Nappa turns to Gohan and I don’t like the look on Nappa’s face. 

“Just for that…” He says, “you go first.” I swallow, mind racing as to how I can get Gohan out of this, going too fast to decide on anything as I stand there. I tried to keep my composure, but it was so hard. This poor boy was about to be murdered! 

To his credit, Gohan faces off against Nappa looking fairly brave. “Okay, brat!” Nappa roars, “You die!” 

With that, he charges. Now actually facing Nappa, Gohan pales, beginning to tremble in terror. Piccolo sprints to help. I watch helplessly, unable to think of an excuse to stop the fight. 

Gohan had let some Dragonball information slip, and that led him to where he is now. 

It was confirmed that Namekians have something to do with the Dragonballs, and so Vegeta and Nappa were willing to search out Nameks who would make us our own Dragonballs. 

Gohan and Piccolo had used up their usefulness, so I had no ground to stand on in terms of sparing them.

Cutting off my thoughts, I hear Gohan actually give a shout and move. Looking over, I see Gohan kick Nappa to the side, right into an outcropping, and I almost smile. 

_ Go Gohan!  _

Piccolo seems surprised. “I...I don’t believe it.” He mumbles, looking at the rubble on top of Nappa. Gohan now looks pissed more than angry. I find a measure of pride in the fact that Gohan was overcoming his fear and fighting back. 

That feeling evaporates when Nappa leaps out of the pile of rocks. Gohan was not out of the woods yet, it seems. Nappa is looking increasingly battered, however, and increasingly angry. 

“You!” He roars, ”I’ll kill you!” He charges an attack to make good on his threat, the energy crackling white around his hand, rocks flying around at the sheer amount of energy in the air, crumbling to nothing seconds later. Gohan looks terrified again as the attack continues to charge. 

Nappa draws his arm back and I know, if something doesn’t happen...Gohan’s doomed. 

I bite my tongue to keep from shouting at Gohan to move as the blast gets closer and Gohan screams in fright. 

I see some kind of movement, but I can’t see who is moving or what’s happening, heart in my throat as I watch the attack close in. 

Then...barely audible over the sound of the energy and Nappa’s shouting, I hear Piccolo groaning and shouting in pain. I pale. 

No...no _no_ **_no_**! Was Piccolo seriously taking the hit for Gohan?! _Damnit_! He’s linked to the Dragonballs! If he dies...we won’t get our wish! That’s the entire reason we came here! 

Now... Piccolo was making the ultimate sacrifice to protect Gohan. 


	9. Goku's Arrival

**So sorry guys! I accidentally mixed up the chapters. My bad! **

**Anyways, here's the actual next chapter. Thank you to Keeli and Yukisama100 for alerting me to the mixup and to Yuki for thinking my hypothetical child is cute! :) I don't wanna spoil the origin my friend and I came up with (*cough* your science guess was close *cough*), but I will say I might put the picture I drew in the next chapter if other people wanna see it.**

**Hope you guys like this chapter and I'll put the other Lesson Number One back up in its proper place so you guys can get keep reading. :D *thumbs up***

**God Bless and Happy Holidays!**

**~The Lupine Sojourner**

As the dust settles following Nappa’s attack, Piccolo is revealed, standing protectively in front of Gohan, clothes severely tattered and almost burned off in the blast. 

He trembles with the effort of remaining standing, a few trails of blood dripping from open wounds. “No…” I mouth, not daring to say it aloud. 

Gohan himself seems to be processing exactly what happened, trembling and wide eyes locked on Piccolo. “P-piccolo?” He whimpers, beginning to see just what happened and its consequences. 

“It’s okay, kid.” Piccolo murmurs weakly, panting and trying to put on a brave face. “No sweat.” 

I gulp back a thickening lump in my throat. Piccolo even tries to laugh, but stops, falling over as his legs give out. 

Gohan is stunned, unable to accept that Piccolo was dying. He is at Piccolo’s side in an instant, however, gently shaking him. “No...you can’t be hurt, Piccolo! You just can’t! We need you!” 

The lump in my throat is back, and I can’t seem to swallow it back. I take several deep breaths.

I can’t show emotion at this, or I’ll have to answer to Vegeta and who knows what he’d do to me. 

“I...I’m not gonna make it.” Piccolo tells Gohan, barely able to talk anymore. “It’s up to you. You must stop them.” He continues. Gohan seems to be barely in control of his emotions, likely to start crying any second. I find myself in the same boat. 

These friends were being separated, and I can’t imagine Gohan’s pain. 

“Piccolo, just hold on a little longer.” Gohan pleads. “My dad’s coming. He’ll save us, just hold on!” 

Nappa grins. “Aww, too bad!” He taunts. “I wanted to take my time with the Namek. Oh well.” I almost reprimand him for his insensitivity but realize I can’t since I hadn’t ever before. It would be strange and suspicious for me to do so now. “I can still have fun with the kid.” 

I grit my teeth. I’d always, whenever I was forced to, killed kids instantly, not prolonging their suffering at all. I made it quick and fairly painless for them. 

Nappa, however, was offering no such courtesy, cruelty fueling his actions. 

“It’s ironic, isn’t it?” Piccolo asks, managing a pained chuckle. “After all my years of training to defeat your father, I go out like this; trying to save you, his son.” My heart aches even worse. So I was right; they were close friends, it seems, after a bit of a rocky start. 

How cruel fate was, tearing these two apart. 

I decide there and then that no matter what, I’d try to see if I could sneak a wish on the Dragonballs we’ll find or acquire to bring Piccolo back so he can still train and protect Gohan alongside Kakarot. 

“Piccolo…” Gohan murmurs, tears brimming in his eyes. 

“Gohan...you’re the only real friend I’ve ever had.” My breath hitches, a single tear escaping. Luckily, everyone was focused on Piccolo and Gohan, so I wiped my eyes as subtly as I could and watch helplessly as Piccolo keeps talking. “I wanna thank you.” I bit my tongue to stop sobs from bringing attention to me as the tears return. 

“Just hold on a little longer.” Gohan pleads desperately. 

“I still remember the first day I brought you here.” Piccolo muses, a small reminiscent smile on his face and tears, I notice, beginning to fall down his cheeks. “You were small. Helpless. You’ve changed so much. The harder things got, the more determined you became. The more dangers you faced, the stronger you became as a warrior.” 

_ As per usual with a Saiyan _. I muse inwardly.

“I know I was hard on you,” Piccolo confesses, “but it was for your own good. You’re like the son I never had.” I have to close my eyes and bite my tongue at that, a wave of emotions hitting me full force. “I’m proud of you.” 

“No, please!” Gohan cries, to no avail. 

“Goodbye, my friend.” Piccolo murmurs, eyes closing as a few tears slip out. 

“_ Nnoooo _!” Gohan screams, tears falling down his face. 

I swallow, finally getting a bit of control back. I had to get a grip. Things were beginning to move again, and I had to keep up appearances. I wipe my eyes again and hope there wasn’t any other evidence on my face as Gohan screams out again in pain and grief. 

Vegeta starts as his scouter beeps. I look over and note that Gohan’s power reading was increasing rapidly. I glance back at Gohan and see him glaring at Nappa, who seems a little surprised at the look of utter rage on Gohan’s face. 

Nappa then seems happy that Gohan was finally finding his fighting spirit. “Alright, let’s go!” He challenges. 

Gohan raises his hands, putting them one on top of the other. “Masenko!” He cries, and Krillan seems to know what that means. Soon, energy crackles in yellow lightning around his hands. Vegeta walks a little closer to me. 

“That runt’s power level is over 2000.” He notes, surprised. I glance at the scouter and see that the power reading is still going up. 

“Seems the kid had hidden some of his power before.” I reply. “Either that, or losing his friend had given him enough rage to increase his power more than he had before.” 

“Hold on.” Vegeta says, waiting till the scouter reading came out of Gohan’s total power level. “It’s over 3000!” I blink. 

“Amazing. He is half-Saiyan, though. Perhaps that’s why he’s so strong.” 

“Nappa, watch out!” Vegeta warns. “That one’s much more powerful than he appears!” 

Nappa didn’t appear to heed the warning, still charging headlong toward Gohan. “Here I come, boy!” He roars, and Gohan responds in kind. He fires a blast at Nappa. Nappa smacks the blast aside, destroying more of the landscape. Nappa grits his teeth, holding his arm. “Hey! Not too bad, kid! You made my arm numb!” He chuckles a little. “Alright then, it’s my turn!” The scouter beeps again as Vegeta gets another reading on Gohan’s power level.

“That one shot must have drained all of his energy. His power level has returned to normal.” Vegeta reports, seeming relieved. I frown. 

“Yeah, guess that boost was purely emotional and circumstantial.” I mumble, slightly dumbfounded. There was amazing potential hidden in Gohan. Reaching a level of 3000 at his age was unheard of, and from a hybrid...almost impossible, and yet there it was. 

“Don’t worry, Piccolo. I won’t let you down.” Gohan says, panting. Nappa stalks closer to finish Gohan off and Krillan tries to move. However, he’s so injured he can’t get to his feet. 

“Gohan, run away! Hurry!” He cries worriedly. Nappa chuckles evilly. 

“That’s right.” He taunts, “Run away and hide!” 

“No way.” Gohan replies, looking at Piccolo. “Piccolo’s counting on me.” 

I find Gohan’s sudden bravery endearing. However, Nappa just laughs and raises his boot. I pale and my heart skips a beat.

I still couldn’t do anything. 

“Nice knowing yah, kid! There’ll always be a soft spot at the bottom of my boot for yah! So long!” I am twitching, about to run out and screw myself over when out of nowhere, Gohan vanishes in some orange blur. I blink in confusion. 

Orange? He was wearing- - “What the hell?” I blurt before I can stop myself. Everyone is stunned, and I spot Gohan...floating on an orange cloud.

“Where did that thing come from?” Nappa growls. 

Gohan opens his eyes slowly, and looks at the cloud like he knows it. 

“Nimbus?” He mumbles. 

“How did he- -what the- -” Nappa slutters and Vegeta and I look around, spotting something at the same time. A figure in the same outfit as Krillan hovers above us, watching with a cold glare, shaggy hair blowing in the breeze. The figure descends, and I realize it’s male, and probably Kakarot. His black hair was messy, unkempt, eyes as black as ours. 

Yes, this is Kakarot. Gohan and Krillan’s smile confirm it. 

“Daddy!” 

“It’s Goku!” 

I feel relieved that Gohan was okay, and yes...in a way, relieved that Kakarot had finally shown up. I fly closer with Vegeta. 

“Welcome, Kakarot.” Vegeta says calmly, arms crossed. Kakarot does nothing, continuing to glare at us from midair. “Nice of you to join us.” Vegeta laughs, but I can’t bring myself to join him. 

Kakarot was pissed and he had every right to be. 

“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show up.” I add, not bothering to pretend to mean it as a taunt, preferring to just make it seem I was bored. 

Vegeta nods. “Especially after your little family reunion with Radditz. Did you two have fun catching up?” I bite my tongue. I had a feeling we didn’t want to antagonize Kakarot even further. 

Kakarot just stands there, glaring. He wasn’t as talkative as he had been at first with Radditz, but I suppose that’s to be expected when an unknown person shows up and claims to be related to you. 

“I see. Not much for words, eh, Kakarot? Well, you’re just in time. We were tired of beating these so-called fighters over and over again. What a joke!” 

I sigh softly. I think the earthlings and Piccolo are brave for going into a fight like this, knowing the likely outcome. 

Kakarot, still remaining mute, walks over to Piccolo unhurriedly. He crouches and puts his fingers to Piccolo’s neck to see for himself Piccolo’s condition. “Piccolo…” He murmurs when he confirms his friend’s death. 

“He was protecting me.” Gohan explains sadly, still on his hands and knees on the strange orange cloud. “He saved me.” Kakarot looks around, gritting his teeth when he spots Tien’s body. 

“Tien…” 

“That one fought himself to death.” I muse, making myself chuckle a little and cross my arms nonchalantly. “He couldn’t keep up with Nappa.” Kakarot notices Yamcha, and he looks even madder. Nappa laughs. 

“Oh, were these guys friends of yours? Sorry about that!” He taunts. “They were fun to fight for a while, but they all met the same fate in the end.” Kakarot glares at Nappa, putting two and two together and assuming (correctly) that Nappa was responsible for the slaughter of his friends. “That’s right; I took care of them all.” Nappa smirks. “Well, except for the little guy; he blew himself up!” 

Kakarot is now shaking with rage, fist clenched and jaw tight. Nappa decides it’s a good idea to continue taunting Kakarot. “And the whole time I was pounding them, they were waiting on you to show up! Somehow they knew you were coming, but it didn’t matter! You were too late!” Nappa laughs as Kakarot processes what he’s been told. 

I’m sure Kakarot knows that his friends were counting on him. It seems they had some plan, and it depended on Kakarot getting here to defend Earth. Something stalled Kakarot, though, resulting in the current situation he found himself in. 

Vegeta gets a reading on Kakarot’s power, and I scoot a bit closer to him to see how powerful the newcomer is. “Kakarot’s power level is increasing.” Vegeta notes as Kakarot stomps closer to Nappa, preparing to dish out justice. Nappa prepares to fight, enjoying the prospect of a new challenge. 

“They were weak, just like you are.” Nappa taunts. I roll my eyes. He’s made his point. But Nappa still keeps talking. “They were weak. Not worth my time.” Just as Kakarot walks calmly in range of a punch, Nappa obliges, throwing a solid attack, but suddenly, Kakarot wasn’t in front of the punch. 

I glanced around and saw him walking toward Krillan as if nothing had happened. 

“C’mon, Gohan.” Kakarot murmurs, and the cloud obeys, following Kakarot. I smirk, impressed by Kakarot’s lack of fear in the face of someone like Nappa who may be above his power level. He gets to Krillan moments later. “Hey, Krillan, you alright?” He asks. Kakarot “Fantastic.” Krillan replies, and I can’t tell if it’s sarcastic or not. 

Kakarot squats down, remaining perfectly calm, as if he’d arrived after the battle was over. “I was a little late. Sorry.” He says, smiling. “But it’s okay now.” He holds out something in his hand. “Here; special delivery from Corin.” He says. 

I frown. Wonder what he’s holding. Krillan seems to like whatever it is. 

“Oh boy! A Senzu Bean!” He cheers. I raise a brow. What? “Am I glad to see that!” Kakarot chuckles. 

“This was his last one.” He muses. Krillan frowns. 

“Whoa, wait a minute. Maybe you should keep it then.” He offers. Kakarot is unconcerned. 

“Nah, I already had one for myself, Krillan.” He replies. “This one’s for you.” Krillan smiles sheepishly. 

“I’d be wasting it. You need it if you’re gonna take down both of these guys.” He protests. 

“It’s your help I might need.” Kakarot replies, still holding the ‘Senzu bean’ out. “That’s the truth, Krillan, I promise.” Kakarot then snaps whatever it is in half. “Here, take half.” He says. 

Krillan accepts the half in his mouth. “Thanks, Goku.” He murmurs, chewing it. Kakarot gives the other half to Gohan. As they ate, I could watch their wounds heal. Not completely but it was definitely an improvement. I blink. What was a Senzu bean and how could it reverse battle damage so quickly? “We gotta learn how to grow those beans!” Krillan chuckles, sounding almost fully recovered. 

That just confuses me more. _ Beans?! _ ** _Beans_ ** _ healed them? _

“Krillan, you’ve gotten a lot stronger, I can tell.” Kakarot muses suddenly. Krillan doesn’t seem to fully accept the compliment. 

“Yeah, I was doing great until the fighting started.” He mumbles. “We’ve all improved, thanks to Kami, of course.” Was Kami their instructor? Was this ‘Kami’ some martial artist? “But, man, I guess it just wasn’t enough.” 

To distract Krillan from his thoughts, Kakarot looks at Gohan. “Hey, Gohan, you’ve gotten stronger too! I can tell you’ve been training hard.” 

Gohan smiles happily at his father’s compliment, nodding. “Piccolo’s been taking care of me.” He says. “He was great and he taught me so many things! Now he’s gone...” I glance at Piccolo’s body. Such a waste of a good fighter. “It’s...it’s up to us to bring him back. I don’t know how we can do it but we have to! We just have to, Dad!” He pleads. 

Kakarot’s eyes narrow in determination. “We will, son.” He promises, and somehow, I believe him. “We will. But first, we have to focus on taking these guys down, once and for all.” 

Krillan looks ready to fight. “You’re right, Goku! Man, it’s not over yet!” He then looks he’s had an epiphany. “Hey! With your increased strength, and us back at full power, we should have a pretty good chance at beating these jerks!” 

“Right.” Kakarot agrees. “But you two have done your part. Maybe it’s best if you two sit this one out. This time, I think I’m gonna take them on all by myself.” 

I am a bit shocked. _ He’s either overestimating his own abilities, or there’s something he’s hiding. Either way, he seems very confident he can handle us. _

Gohan and Krillan are as shocked as I am, however. “Goku, you can’t!” Krillan protests. He points to Nappa. “See that big guy over there? He beat all of us without even breaking a sweat! The only chance we have is if we stick together.” Gohan nods. 

“He’s right, Dad. That guy...he’s really strong!”

Kakarot glares over his shoulder at us, even starting to summon his energy to fight us. It comes off him in waves, almost like heat. He holds the summoned energy inside, walking toward us again, ready to fight. 

“Amazing.” Krillan mumbles, eyes wide. 

Gohan looks terrified. “Dad, no! Don’t!” He calls, running after Kakarot til Krillan holds him back. 

“Wait, Gohan. Just let him go.” 

“Come back, please!” Gohan cries as Kakarot continues toward us. 

Krillan watches his friend. “I’ve never seen him like this, Gohan. He’s different somehow. I...I think we should just do what he says.” 

“This has gone on long enough!” Kakarot growls when he’s close. “It ends right here, right now.” 

“You’re welcome to try to stop us, Kakarot.” I reply, arms still crossed. However, I did feel confident in him for some reason. He’s a fighter, and a good one, I can tell. 

Nappa just laughs. “She’s right. No way you can win. Now, I haven’t got all day! I wanna see what the great Kakarot is made of!” He taunts. 

Kakarot prepares himself. “You want me? You got me!” He growls, summoning the waves of energy again. 

This was going to be an interesting fight. Kakarot was rather impressive, and he’s still powering up! The energy cracks the ground, causing the earth to rumble and small rocks to go flying. Then, suddenly he stops. Nappa leans toward Vegeta. 

“Vegeta, what did you say his power level is?” He asks. 

I’d been so focused on Kakarot, I didn’t hear what Vegeta said. 

“It’s over 9000!” Vegeta replies, taking off his scouter and destroying it as if it were the cause of his irritation. 

Nappa turns, eyes wide. “9000?!” He exclaims. “There’s no way that could be right! It can’t!” 

“Don’t be so sure.” Kakarot warns. “I’ll have you know I was trained in the art of Kaioken!”

I raise a brow. _What was that? A form of Earth fighting?_

“Kay-o-ken?” Vegeta mumbles curiously. 

“Kaioken.” I correct automatically. “If I had to guess, that’s just an earth form of fighting.” 

“Kay-o-whatever!” Nappa snarls, charging toward Kakarot. “Who cares!? I’m still gonna crush you!” 

“Nappa, don’t be an idiot.” I call. “Stay on your toes. The earthlings surprised us before.” 

“I don’t care what he’s learned, Sarada!” He replies angrily, jumping up and trying to grab his opponent, but again Kakarot dodges easily, leaping up and slamming his foot against Nappa’s neck. Nappa crumbles to the ground, groaning. Vegeta grits his teeth. 

“Whoa...how did he do that?” Krillan mumbles, stunned. 

Nappa grabs his neck and starts to get up. “You...you’ll pay for that!” He says, furious. “You’ll pay!” He stands, ready to continue. 

Kakarot simply stands there, waiting for Nappa’s next move. “We’ll see. I haven’t even warmed up yet.” Kakarot taunts, unimpressed. 

I can’t help a smirk. Kakarot was either cocky or genuinely more powerful than Nappa. 

“What?!” Nappa barks. “What you little- -that was luck!” He points a thumb at his chest. “I’m the third strongest Saiyan in the universe under those two!” He says, gesturing to us. 

Kakarot smirks. “Well if your friends are stronger than you, that makes you the fourth strongest!” He replies. 

I hold in laughter. Kakarot was playing Nappa at his own game. And _ winning _! 

Nappa gets ready to continue the fight. “Kakarot, I’m gonna rip you apart!” He leaps out at Kakarot, but once again, Kakarot proves faster, dodging Nappa’s attacks easily. Kakarot was doing to Nappa what Nappa did to Tien. And it was working. 

“Strange...a year ago, he couldn’t handle Radditz, now he’s making sport of Nappa.” Vegeta murmurs beside me, hand on his chin in thought. 

“Well, it’s obvious Kakarot’s been training.” I reply. “Apparently death didn’t stop him from improving. I don’t know how, but you were right; this isn’t just due to the zenkai boost.” I watch as Kakarot dodges another blow, this time moving away instead of staying where he was. Nappa looks around. 

“Over here.” Kakarot calls. Nappa whirls to face him again. Nappa is furious, unable to think straight. 

“I’ll get my hands on you, and when I do…” Kakarot takes the initiative, sprinting at Nappa, but then he simply jumps onto Nappa’s head, illustrating just how much stronger he was. He could have easily attacked, but he chose to simply make fun of Nappa, toying with him. 

When Nappa tries to grab Kakarot, Kakarot is instantly off Nappa’s head, slamming his fist into Nappa’s abdomen. Nappa seems as winded as Tien had been when Nappa did that to him. 

“That’s for my friends.” Kakarot growls. I wonder if Kakarot somehow knows precisely what Nappa had done to his friends, if he could parallel it so easily. Nappa doubles over, clutching his stomach. “All four of them.” 

Now that Kakarot was here, Nappa was outmatched, being shown up so completely and so easily, Kakarot didn’t even seem warmed up yet. 

_ Could he...could he really do it? Could Kakarot really defeat us? _

I frown. This had never happened before. I wonder how Vegeta will take it. 

Knowing him...not well. Not well at all. 


	10. Lesson Number One

**Okay so I am really really sorry for the mix up last time guys. I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again! **

**Now, like I said before,** **this episode sets up stuff and gets things rolling in terms of developing Sarada and her relationship with Vegeta. **

**I'm trying to take my time and do my character right and not rush her development, and I h** **ope you like this chapter and enjoy the ride! **

**God Bless and Happy Holidays!**

**~The Lupine Sojourner**

Nappa falls to his knees and my heart drops. 

If he fails...if Nappa can’t beat Kakarot, I’m honestly scared to think what Vegeta would do to him. Despite liking Kakarot a little already, if he wins, it might spell doom for Nappa. 

And he’s been with Vegeta and me for years. He’s one of our oldest friends. Well, he’s one of  _ my _ oldest friends. I’m not sure how Vegeta feels about him, in all honestly. He’s never been open about things like this. 

“I was Commander in Cheif of the whole Saiyan army!” Nappa snarls in denial, holding his stomach. “You’re nothing compared to me!” 

Nappa looks up to see Kakarot just...staring at him, nonplussed. Nappa attacks haphazardly, Kakarot dodging and blocking each one with little effort. 

Kakarot then punches Nappa to the ground. Nappa uses his momentum to push off an outcropping, then hovers, quivering in rage trying to think of another attack.

Kakarot...watches. He just glares at Nappa, a frown on his face, but otherwise he seemed utterly calm. 

If Kakarot was livid, and I assume he is, he held his emotions in check enough to remain rational and levelheaded, something that Nappa was failing to do. 

Beside me, Vegeta almost looks a little nervous, and a bit peeved this fight wasn’t as easy as the last one. 

“I’m through with you, Kakarot!” Nappa roars, charging an attack. Once he launches it, Kakarot gets into a ready stance, now grinning at the blast hurdling toward him. 

“Alright, here goes!” Kakarot cries, then spreads his arms to take the hit! I raise an eyebrow, stunned. 

“What is he doing?” I whisper. The rebound of the attack kicks up small rocks and dirt, obscuring Kakarot from view as he grapples with the energy. Nappa laughs, confident he’d finally won. 

For Nappa’s sake, I hope that attack at least did some damage. 

Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed as the cloud settles and Kakarot was still in the same position, the only thing different being the dirt now covering him. He lowers his arms as Nappa protests this development. 

“How was that pathetic fool able to handle  _ that _ ?” Vegeta asks, eyes wide. 

I frown. “Obviously, he’s trained for this encounter.” I reply. “It shouldn’t be surprising that Kakarot’s gotten stronger.” This was not the first time I’d made this point, but still Nappa and Vegeta held onto the idea that we elite Saiyans were so far above everyone else, we couldn’t possibly be challenged. 

If they truly believe no one can challenge us, I do believe they’re in for a nasty shock. 

Nappa needs to get Kakarot’s power level in his head and adjust his strategy accordingly. 

Speaking of Nappa, he begins to launch another attack. Kakarot is too quick, however, flying up above Nappa and raising joined hands. 

“This is for Piccolo!” He roars, slamming his hands down on Nappa’s head, sending him flying toward the ground. Nappa grumbles as he falls, unable to process the fact that he was losing. 

But Kakarot wasn’t done. He zips down, powers off the ground, and goes to attack Nappa again. “This one’s for Yamcha!” He exclaims, kicking Nappa into a boulder. Kakarot performs several flips as he descends, landing neatly, ready to continue his assault. 

Gohan and Krillan, watching the fight as Vegeta and I were, congratulated Kakarot’s success against Nappa. The next second, however, Nappa comes out of the remains of the boulder, shaking in fury as he faces Kakarot yet again. His eyes were wild, borderline insane as he threw a rock that Kakarot dodged with just a small move of his head.

Nappa was unraveling. He was no longer the Commander in Chief of the Saiyan Army. He was a cornered wild animal raging against its hunter. 

And that has danger for both the hunter and the animal.  If Nappa wasn’t careful, he’d be consumed by his own fury, destroying himself. 

And yet...I couldn’t make myself warn him. There was something that made my mouth stay shut. Maybe it was because Vegeta didn’t seem to care, thus making it risky for me to speak out. 

Maybe it was a Saiyan instinct to watch a battle but not interfere. 

Whatever it was, my mouth stayed shut.

“You hate losing.” Kakarot wisely points out, glaring over at Nappa. “You’re not used to fighting someone stronger than you.” 

_ That was true. For all our lives, we’d been assigned to so many planets with laughable power levels, wiping them out so easily we began to expect victory no matter who we fought.  _

_ However, there were people out there who could wipe us out without a thought. Like Frieza and his Ginyu Force.  _

Speaking of, we still had no idea how Frieza would handle our disobedience when we return after gaining immortality. 

I expect we’ll just have to figure that out as we go along. 

“You’re not stronger than me, you little runt!” Nappa snarls, distracting me from my thoughts. He was still in denial, ensuring his demise. “Your strength was tested as a baby! You’re a Third-Class Saiyan!” 

I roll my eyes. If he can’t see that Kakarot has had enough training to raise his status, Nappa will definitely die today. Either by Kakarot, or by Vegeta...maybe. I truly have no idea what Vegeta’s gonna do if Nappa loses. “I’m a Saiyan Elite, you low-class dog!” 

Kakarot is unfazed, staring down the approaching Nappa calmly. Finally, I can’t hold my tongue anymore. I didn’t want to see Nappa killed because he lost his temper. 

“Nappa, don’t be an idiot! Calm down!” I call, stepping forward a little. Vegeta steps forward, too. 

“I’d listen to Sarada. How do you expect to beat him if you’re so mad you can’t see straight? Now settle down! Use your head.” 

We then take a breath and resume watching. Nappa seemed surprised we got involved, but thankfully we seem to have gotten through to him. 

He takes several deep breathes, then faces Kakarot with clearer eyes and a calmer attitude. “Alright, Kakarot, round two.” He calls. “You may have gotten lucky with a few fancy moves, but now I’m gonna tear you apart.” 

I sigh. Nappa still can’t see that Kakarot has a lower power level. He’s still clinging to that delusion. 

For his part, Kakarot stands confident and unafraid. “I’m ready when you are. It’s your move.” 

“Your time is up, Kakarot!” With that proclamation, Nappa charges to attack. He uses the same technique he used to destroy that city when we arrived, focusing it on Kakarot, who doesn’t even flinch. Kakarot flies off, why I don’t know. “You can’t escape!” Nappa pursues, and Kakarot dodges a few punches and kicks. The battling pair move all across the area we were gathered in. Through with dodging, Kakarot begins to counter, punching and kicking Nappa as the battle continued. 

Kakarot smiles as they fight to a temporary standstill. “This might be harder than I thought.” He muses, seeming thrilled by the challenge rather than infuriated or panicked. 

“That was only a taste of my power! I haven’t even begun to show you my true power!” Nappa boasts, misjudging Kakarot severely. He took what Kakarot said as an admittance of weakness on the ‘low-class’ warrior’s part. 

In reality, Kakarot was just admitting that he was finally warming up. Nappa still doesn’t stand a chance. Nappa opens his mouth, unleashing a beam of energy. Moving quickly, Kakarot fires his own blast, holding off Nappa’s attack. The attacks finally explode, sending wind and debris everywhere. I move my arms over my face instinctively. 

“That was so fast! How could he stop that? Nappa was right in his face!” Vegeta grumbles. 

I was tired of repeating the obvious fact of Kakarot’s training, preferring to not say anything. More than likely, Vegeta wasn’t aware he spoke aloud. 

“That was too close.” Kakarot mumbles. “Any closer and I’d be history.” 

I doubt that, somehow. Kakarot wasn’t even fazed. His clothes remained the same as when he appeared. 

“This can’t be happening!” Nappa roars, getting overwhelmed with fury again when he sees Kakarot still standing and acting like he didn't have a care in the world. “Nobody has ever survived that attack! He’s got to have _some_ weakness.” 

There was one thing I can think of that might turn the tide of this battle: I have yet to see a tail on Kakarot. Maybe...just maybe if Nappa went Oozaru, it could mean that Nappa would win. 

For now, it seems the two are talking, to themselves or to each other, it was hard to tell, but it was clear they were developing their respective strategies. 

Vegeta suddenly seems mad, but I can’t tell why. “Alright, that it! Enough!” He barks, “You heard me, Nappa! Get down here! You’re finished!” 

I blink. Oh no...was he...was he about to...no. No, Vegeta, wouldn’t kill Nappa, right? Nappa again risks his safety by glaring down defiantly at Vegeta. 

“Don’t glare at him like that!!” I add. “So far you haven’t managed to land a single punch! I think you’ve embarrassed us long enough!” If I didn’t show support for whatever Vegeta was doing, I was likely to go the same way as Nappa. Plus, if I can ensure Vegeta is obeyed, Nappa would be in no danger from my brother.

Nappa stares at us, deciding whether or not to risk open defiance. “I said it’s my turn! Now get down here!” Vegeta presses. Then turns to me. “Unless you want to step in instead?” I shake my head.

“I’d hate to rob you of your fun, Vegeta. You take him.” I reply. I had no intention of killing one of the only remaining Saiyans, especially in front of his kid. 

Nappa finally caves. “Well, the fun’s over.” He grumbles, “Vegeta’s going to enjoy killing you slowly, Kakarot.” He threatens, looking down at Vegeta and I. “Those two are the only ones in the universe that could stop me from ending things with you right now. They’re both stronger and faster than me. I can’t wait to watch you fail.” Vegeta smiles, awaiting his crack at taking Kakarot down. “It’s too bad Vegeta won’t let me help finish you off.” 

This fight will be interesting to watch. 

Kakarot was fascinating. He was so weak when Radditz showed up, but now he was so strong he could have easily killed Nappa if he wanted to. 

If the fight had gone on, Nappa would likely have died. And I would rather keep all the Saiyans alive if I can.

Nappa starts to descend. “Now, what can I do for fun?” He asks rhetorically. I have a sinking feeling I know what he’s planning, and how that will end. Sure enough, Nappa turns to Gohan and Krillan. “I know!” He begins to move toward them. 

“Gohan, no! Krillan, run!” Kakarot exclaims as Nappa closes in on the terrified pair. Kakarot takes off after Nappa, catching up quickly, but not close enough to attack. 

“Kaio-Ken Attack!” Kakarot exclaims, suddenly glowing red. Something told me this wasn’t just another attack. This was something else. 

“Now what?” Vegeta asks, probably getting the same gut feeling I have. 

Nappa opens his mouth to use the beam on Krillan and Gohan and I watch as Kakarot’s speed increases, slamming into Nappa’s back and then landing, holding up a hand to finish the fight decisively. 

Nappa was finished, crying out in pain as his back bends unnaturally against Kakarot’s first. It was clear Kakarot had snapped Nappa’s spine. 

Nappa had lost…

Kakarot throws Nappa over to us. My stomach clenches, dropping to my toes. I had a bad feeling I knew what was about to happen, but I prayed I was wrong. I put my hand on Vegeta’s shoulder. “He could recover if we get him treatment as soon as possible.” I murmur softly. Vegeta just walks forward, and I let my hand return to my side. 

I pale. He wouldn’t kill Nappa, would he? Nappa was one of the last Saiyans alive! There were so few of us left...we couldn’t kill one of our own, right? 

“I can’t move my legs.” Nappa reports, seeming to know Vegeta wouldn’t take kindly to this development. 

“Wow Goku, I think you really hurt that guy.” Krillan notes, watching us. “He’s not getting up.” Kakarot glares over at us. 

“He won’t be fighting anymore.” He calls, letting us know he knew precisely what he did and its effects. 

Nappa was now essentially useless to Vegeta. 

Vegeta only cared about strength and usefulness, and if Nappa lost his strength, his ability to fight, that could mean...I swallow, heart pounding as I await Nappa’s fate. 

Would Vegeta finish the job, or would he show a rare instance of mercy? 

Practically our whole lives, Nappa had been by our side. Could Vegeta really just kill him? “I suggest you take him back to wherever you came from and get him some help.” Kakarot adds firmly, and I can’t help but marvel at his willingness to show us mercy. Was he seriously going to let us go? Did he not know how Saiyans operate? 

“Hey, Goku, how did you do that?” Krillan asks, distracting all of us. “That was one of the most amazing attacks I’ve ever seen! What was it?” Kakarot turns to his friends, his body relaxing a little and a grin on his face. 

“Oh, it was the Kaio-Ken Attack!” He replies. “It’s like a massive upsurge of energy. Everything is heightened; power, speed, even hearing and vision are improved dramatically. You sort of become a super self, but it can only be sustained for a short time, so you have to get the job done quickly.” 

That explains why he’s so much more powerful than Nappa, I guess. 

“That’s so great!” Krillan exclaims. “Do you think you could teach me to do a move like that one day, Goku? Huh? Maybe?” 

I smile in spite of myself. Krillan was so excited about learning a technique like that and it was clear he respected Kakarot as a friend and hopeful teacher.

“Maybe.” Kakarot replies. 

Vegeta then sets his jaw and I am back to worrying about Nappa. What was Vegeta gonna do? “As usual, I have to do everything myself.” He growls, too low for the others to hear. I don’t dare say anything, lest I suffer the same fate as whatever will happen to Nappa. 

“Why didn’t you use that Kaio-Ken to attack him in the first place, Goku?” Krillan asks, distracting us again. “With a move like that, you could have taken him out any time you wanted to.” 

I raise a brow. Krillan was right; why  _ did _ Kakarot hesitate? 

“That’s true. I  _ could _ have.” Kakarot acknowledges, “but there’s always a chance that the increase in energy could have destroyed my body.” 

I raise a brow. Makes sense. That much of an increase so suddenly could have dramatic effects on the body. “But I’m still here, aren’t I?” He assures his friend and son, who look worried. 

“Yeah.” They say, concerns for Goku seemingly set aside for now. Then Kakarot goes on to explain that if he uses it too long or in a weakened state, the energy could obliterate his body. “It...could kill you?” Krillan whimpers, concerned again. Kakarot nods. 

“Yes.” 

As I’m processing that, Nappa reaches up toward Vegeta, who he was closer to. 

“Vegeta...give me a hand.” He pleads. “I can’t get up.” Vegeta glares down at Nappa, and I get a horrible feeling Nappa will be killed. 

I inch closer, but stop when Vegeta grabs his hand. Maybe Vegeta actually will help Nappa, not kill him. Maybe…

“Thank you.” Nappa doesn’t register the stern, apathetic look on Vegeta’s face. I swallow, my heart kicking up. 

This was the moment of truth. What will Vegeta do? Will he spare his old friend, or will he kill Nappa for his failure? “Sure.” He replies, voice chilling me to the bone. “It’s the least I could do.” I pale. Oh no...no! 

If I intervene, I’ll end up like Nappa, so I can only watch helplessly as Vegeta’s grip increases, his chuckling turns sinister, and he tosses Nappa into the air. “Maybe you won’t be such a disappointment when you’re dead!” Vegeta calls. Nappa cries out in surprise and pain, and Vegeta raises his energy. 

“Goodbye.” Everyone but Vegeta is stunned as the energy envelopes Nappa, who’s screams increase as he’s overwhelmed and destroyed. I bit my lip to keep from crying as the dust settles. 

Nappa was really gone. Just like that... 

Unbidden, a memory comes to mind. 

_ It was after one of my first assignments.  _

_ Nappa was apparently sent to check on me in a rare instance of paternal care from my father.  _

_ I’d done a good enough job on the assignment it warranted a little attention from the King. “Hey, Princess.” I realized later he was talking with a forced tone that came off super awkward.  _

_ At the time, however, I was just so happy I wasn’t alone I hugged him and wiped my tears away.  _

_ “So, why the tears, Sarada, huh? Thought you were tough!” I puffed my cheeks and crossed my arms huffily.  _

_ “I am!”  _

_ “Then why are you crying?” I sit back on my bed, the force of the guilt that made me cry coming back.  _

_ “I killed a baby!”  _

_ Nappa didn’t say anything, but I felt the bed shift and I went tipping onto Nappa’s lap. Instinctively, I bury my face in his chestplate. “Well, it was your assignment, you know. It was just part of the job.”  _

_ “But- -but I- -it was so tiny! It smiled at me!” Nappa gently rubs my back.  _

_ “It didn’t know how the world works.” Nappa tells me. “It’s a hard way of life, kid, but you’ll get the hang of it.”  _

Those words framed the extent of comfort I received ever since that day. 

A few weeks after this, my life changed when Planet Vegeta was destroyed in a freak meteor accident. 

I shook myself to find that I was barely hiding my emotions, tears brimming in my eyes and a lump in my throat so large, I could barely breathe. I forced myself to take discreet, deep breaths, something that usually helped. Vegeta was completely oblivious to my distress, as usual, glancing around to spot Kakarot above us, holding Gohan, Krillan hanging onto his other arm. They all still looked shocked. 

I don’t know why I had been surprised, too. 

I knew what Vegeta did to things that are weak.  He eliminates them. 

So, if I want to survive, I had to play the part of the warrior that can stand at his side through all the violence and horrible things we’ve done and might do yet. 

And I would stay with him...but I couldn’t stand what we did. I hated it, but if I show this side of me, this compassionate, emotional side, I was doomed. 

I’d tried to deny it for years. Whenever I thought of telling Vegeta how I felt and what I was really like, I always thought maybe...I’d be okay. No way Vegeta would kill his sister, right? Now...I knew. 

If he was willing to kill Nappa, his oldest friend and our partner, what chance did I have? I know I had no hope of telling my brother what I was really like and living to tell about it. I had to lock that secret away for my own safety. 

My eyes warned of tears, so I look up at Kakarot, hoping he’d distract me. He lets Gohan and Krillan go, their flight kicking in seamlessly to keep them afloat. My head was buzzing with all the emotion and turbulent thoughts in my brain, too loud to hear what was happening. 

I didn’t hear what was happening, but I could see and make my assessment nonetheless. Kakarot wanted to take us on alone. 

Krillan seemed to agree while Gohan did not. They looked down at us and continued talking. Vegeta knew what they were discussing, too, and cracks a smile, raising a fist. 

I scoot away a little. “You can waste all the time you want on pathetic goodbyes, but you’re just postponing the inevitable.” Vegeta calls. I swallow, my spine tingling almost like a warning. I took a lot of deep breaths to try to calm down.

“-ake sure we grow old together, too.” Krillan was saying and I notice he was reaching a hand out to clasp Kakarot’s. Kakarot grabs his friend's hand, and I can hear the clap as the hands connect as my emotions subside just a little. 

“I couldn’t have asked for a better best friend, Krillan.” Gohan hugs his dad’s legs. 

“Goodbye, Daddy.” He murmurs, so soft I almost couldn’t hear it. Kakarot puts his hand on his son’s head almost tenderly.

“Goodbye, Gohan. I’m very proud of you.” 

Those simple words sent a pang into my heart. 

Just how was it that Kakarot was so gentle, so compassionate, and yet such a powerhouse? 

He easily defeated Nappa, who used to pummel me around the sparring ring!

The thought of Nappa shook me out of those thoughts. I had to focus. Now more than ever, I couldn’t afford one slip-up. 

_ I’m very proud of you. _ Those words had never been spoken to me or about me. It was always ‘you did good work, but Zarbon would have finished the job in half the time’ or ‘good job, Sarada, but you left your side wide open. If he wasn’t the last guy on this planet, you’d be dead’. The encouragement was always undermined by criticism.

That was the Saiyan way. You were either the best you could be or you were worthless. 

And yet here was Kakarot, a Saiyan that straddled the line between normal being and Saiyan with little apparent effort. “Hey, I bet your mom is over at Master Roshi’s. Go give her a big hug from me, will yah? Can you do that, Gohan?” Kakarot suggests warmly, smiling happily at his son like we weren't here. 

If I were a petty girl, I’d be burning with hatred and jealousy that this Saiyan had it all and I had to suffer for years with no end in sight.

But I knew that life was a bitch and never fair. You had to deal with whatever you got. So I settled for being happy that at least he didn’t have to go through what I had been through and force myself to refocus on what was happening.

Gohan, for his part, seemed unsure of leaving his father, but acknowledged the underlying command beneath the sweet words. 

Giving someone a specific task was easier than giving a general order, after all. Gohan responded like I thought he would, eyes lighting up at the prospect of seeing his mother as he responded in the affirmative. 

“Go get ‘em, Goku.” Krillan says before Kakarot descends. 

Vegeta smirks. “So, Kakarot. You ready to get this over with?” Kakarot smirks, and I recognize the anticipation of a good fight in his smirk and the way his eyes light up. There was some Saiyan in him, after all.

“I know a better place than this.” Goku notes, the pair staring at each other, the identical smirks remaining. 

“Wherever. Just lead the way.” Vegeta replies, watching as Kakarot takes off. 

I follow Vegeta’s lead, unable to help wondering how this would turn out. If Vegeta was losing, my brother would likely assume I’d step in. 

And...I think I would, but I’d try to avoid fatally injuring Kakarot if I could. 

After all, Gohan needs his father. That much was clear. Gohan was so young, too young to go through the loss of a father like I had. 

I couldn’t make myself put Gohan through that. 

But, I may not have a choice, if that’s how things play out.


End file.
